Indiana Republicans have settled on a candidate to take on longtime Democratic Rep. Andre Carson in the November election.
There’s just one dilemma, she’s dead.
Jennifer Pace, who suffered a fatal heart attack in March, narrowly triumphed over her GOP primary competition in the Hoosier State’s deep-blue 7th Congressional District Tuesday evening.
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.
Pace had vied for the seat in 2022 as well, losing in the primary.
Some locals did not appear to know that Pace had passed away when they cast their votes for her.
“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.”
A spokesperson for the Indiana Republican Party told the Washington Examiner it was also unaware Pace had died before voting day.
“The official results for the Republican Primary in CD-7 are not required to be certified by the Indiana Election Division until noon on May 24, 2024,” state GOP spokesperson Griffin Reid told The Post.
“A caucus of Precinct Committeemen in the 7th District would be called by the State Chair to fill the candidate vacancy.”
Pace’s platform centered around limiting the government, combating inflation, and protecting parental rights in education, according to a Ballotpedia candidate survey.
There have been several instances of deceased candidates winning elections when they passed away after the deadline to change ballots, though it’s unclear if that was the case in Indiana.
In 2000, Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan won his Senate race after dying in an October plane crash. In 1972, Alaska Rep. Nick Begich won another term after his plane disappeared in the wilderness the previous month.
Carson (D-Ind.), who first assumed office in 2008, is one of two Democrats in Indiana’s nine-member House delegation.
“Indianapolis residents and voters across the country want real results — not radical, far-right MAGA extremism that only divides our country,” he said in a statement after securing the nod for re-election. “I’ll continue choosing people over politics, compromise over chaos, and common sense strategies.”
