(LifeSiteNews) — In one of the stranger results of this year’s midterms elections, Pennsylvanians in one district voted overwhelmingly to re-elect a state representative despite the fact that he died last month.
Pennsylvania Democratic state Rep. Anthony “Tony” DeLuca reportedly won a landslide re-election victory in the 2022 midterm elections against Green Party challenger Queonia “Zarah” Livingston, claiming roughly 86% of the vote.
DeLuca died October 9 with lymphoma at age 85 after having overcome the disease twice before, according to a statement by the Pennsylvania House Democratic Caucus.
Pennsylvania state representative reelected despite being dead https://t.co/W1BDbXiz8d
— Fox News (@FoxNews) November 9, 2022
The Guardian reported that DeLuca’s passing just weeks ahead of the November 8 election meant it had been “too late” to update the ballot or select a new candidate to replace him.
A special election will therefore be held to fill DeLuca’s vacancy in the state’s 32nd district. It’s unclear when that election will be held.
On Tuesday, the Pennsylvania House Democrats thanked constituents for their vote of “confidence” for the deceased politician.
“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,” they wrote on Twitter, adding that “[a] special election will follow soon.”
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
It’s unclear whether voters were largely unaware that DeLuca had passed away or they simply opted to cast their ballot for him rather than elect Livingston, whose far-left priorities included abortion, the Green New Deal, and “environmental justice.”
Though a Democrat, DeLuca had “amassed a conservative voting record on subjects such as abortion rights, guns and criminal justice issues,” according to the Pennsylvania Capital-Star.
Pennsylvania House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff, a Republican, said DeLuca “understood the art of working across the aisle to achieve the best results for the people he represented, and the people of Pennsylvania.”
In a Tuesday tweet, Public Source PA writer Charlie Wolfson suggested that while some of DeLuca’s supporters may have been “oblivious” of his earlier passing, others just “preferred the idea of a special election over electing the third-party candidate on the ballot.”
DeLuca’s posthumous re-election wasn’t the only result in Pennsylvania that took some voters by surprise this week.
On Tuesday, Pennsylvania U.S. Senate candidate John Fetterman, a Democrat, scored a victory against Trump-endorsed Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz. A far-left candidate, Fetterman has openly said he would not support any restrictions on abortion, promised to promote “LGBTQIA+ rights,” and said in a 2015 interview with The Nation that he backed “decriminalizing [drugs] across the board.”
Beyond opposing his progressive policy positions, many have also pointed out that Fetterman’s cognitive ability appears to have declined after a stroke he suffered earlier this year. Some have contended that, due to his health issues, Fetterman lacks the necessary mental acuity for a role in the Senate. Regardless, Fetterman beat out Oz for the U.S. Senate seat by a nearly 4-point margin on November 8.
This week, an MSNBC host floated Fetterman as a potential Democratic candidate for the 2024 presidential contest.