Jennifer Pace, a candidate for U.S. Congress, won her Republican primary election in Indiana this week. However, Pace passed away in March.
According to the New York Post, Pace suffered a fatal heart attack this year. Reportedly, some locals who voted for Pace were unaware that she passed (via NYP):
With 99% of the vote in, Pace earned 31.2% support, followed by retired Army Lt. Catherine Ping at 29.9%, retired postal worker Phillip Davis at 25.7%, and former Evansville mayoral candidate Gabe Whitley at 13.2%, according to the Associated Press tally.
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“No one knew she was dead. Last week I researched the candidates online. I read their websites and questionnaire responses. I googled them. No mention of her death. No obituaries,” one X user claimed.
“Given her responses [sic] I strongly considered voting for her. Local media failed again.”
HERE'S A WEIRD ONE - in the GOP primary to face Democrat André Carson in Indiana's 7th District, a candidate who died in March is currently winning a very close race. Jennifer Pace passed away from a heart attack. pic.twitter.com/MymdwKW08C
— Samantha-Jo Roth (@SamanthaJoRoth) May 8, 2024
Pace reportedly ran for office in 2022 and lost the primary election. Her passing this year came after the deadline to remove names from the ballot.
In a statement to the Washington Examiner, a spokesman for the Indiana Republican Party said they were unaware that Pace had died.
“A caucus of Precinct Committeemen in the 7th District would be called by the State Chair to fill the candidate vacancy,” Indiana GOP spokesperson Griffin Reid told the Post.
In 2022, Townhall covered how a state lawmaker in Pennsylvania who died before Election Day won his reelection campaign in a landslide.
The lawmaker, Tony DeLuca, was a Democrat who served in the state legislature in Pennsylvania for 39 years. On Election Day, DeLuca won more than 85 percent of the vote in his district.
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