A Democrat lawmaker has won his election by a landslide in Pennsylvania, despite having died last month.
Democrat Tony DeLuca was the longest-serving member of the Pennsylvania state House of Representatives and won his reelection by a huge margin on Tuesday.
DeLuca served in the state House for nearly 40 years.
During Tuesday’s election, DeLuca dominated his challenger, Queonia “Zarah” Livingston of the Green Party.
He beat Livingston by more than 70 points.
With more than 95% of the vote counted, DeLuca won with 86% of the vote compared to Livingston’s 14%.
However, DeLuca died on October 9 at age 85 after battling lymphoma.
Despite his death, election officials were not able to remove DeLuca’s name from the ballot in time for Election Day.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Pennsylvania Democrats are celebrating the victory as one that honors DeLuca’s legacy.
Pennsylvania Democrats argue that voters cast their ballots for a dead candidate because they wanted to celebrate DeLuca’s “Democratic values.”
“While we’re incredibly saddened by the loss of Representative Tony DeLuca, we are proud to see the voters to continue to show their confidence in him and his commitment to Democratic values by re-electing him posthumously,” the Pennsylvania House Democrats said in a statement.
While we're incredibly saddened by the loss of Representative Tony DeLuca, we are proud to see the voters to continue to show their confidence in him and his commitment to Democratic values by re-electing him posthumously. A special election will follow soon. pic.twitter.com/CfLnSCuvK9
— PA House Dems (@PAHDCC) November 9, 2022
Election officials were unable to explain the dead Democrat’s impressive landslide victory, nevertheless.
It is possible that some voters did not know that DeLuca had passed when they cast their ballots.
It could also be likely that some voted for him over his far-left challenger, knowing there would be a special election to fill the seat later.
A date for the special election has not yet been established.
The Pennsylvania House Democrats’ press secretary, Nicole Reigelman, said DeLuca’s “seat will be filled by a special election, likely in early spring,” WTAE-TV reported.
