“Paula Overby, the Legal Marijuana Now Party candidate running against Democratic Rep. Angie Craig and Republican Tyler Kistner in Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District, has died,” CBS News Minnesota reports.
Overby’s son told WCCO she died of heart complications on Wednesday.
Legal Marijuana Candidate in 2nd Congressional race Paula Overby died this morning according to her son. 2 years again the Legal Marijuana Candidate also died, but Adam Weeks still got 24,000 votes . It is not clear according to SOS if election will happen on Nov 8th or later
— esme murphy (@esmemurphy) October 5, 2022
This is a very sad day for Minnesota's Second District. Paula Overby cared deeply about our state, and the principles she believed in. It was an honor to have gotten to know Paula. My thoughts and prayers go out to Paula's family and friends during this difficult time. pic.twitter.com/GnXeUrPJ6Y
— Tyler Kistner for Congress (@KistnerCongress) October 5, 2022
Trending: Mike Lindell: “It’s Over” — Tells Steve Bannon He Finally Has All The Evidence He’s Been Waiting On!
I always enjoyed talking with Paula and know how much she cared about our state and making our world a better place. Condolences to her family.
Second Congressional District candidate Paula Overby dies. https://t.co/fI823JJPAj
— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) October 6, 2022
Axios reported:
Paula Overby, a third-party candidate running in one of the Minnesota’s most competitive congressional races, has died with less than five weeks to go until Election Day.
What happened:Â Overby, the Legal Marijuana Now Party’s nominee in the 2nd Congressional District, died Wednesday morning following complications related to a failing heart valve, her son confirmed to Axios. She was 68.
Background: Overby, a quality assurance analyst from Eagan, had run for office multiple times since entering politics in 2014. At the time of her first bid for the suburban Twin Cities swing seat, she was the first openly transgender person to run for Congress in Minnesota.
- Her top campaign issues included ending the war on drugs, addressing what she called “corporate profiteering” in health care and “building a political movement that can successfully challenge… the incumbency lock of the two major parties,” according to her website.
- “She’s really passionate about bringing minor parties together,” Tyler Overby told Axios of his mom, who also ran as an independent and for U.S. Senate as both a DFL and Green Party candidate. “She wanted everyone to have a voice there and [to] bring people together and find common ground for problems that our society faces.”
KARE 11 explained how Overby’s sudden death impacts the congressional election:
The same scenario happened last election cycle in 2020 in the exact same race when Legal Marijuana Now Party candidate Adam Weeks died just weeks before the election. At the time, incumbent Rep. Angie Craig filed a lawsuit with the Minnesota Secretary of State to keep the race on the ballot in November 2020 rather than hold a special election in February 2021.
According to the Secretary of State’s Office, Overby’s name will remain on the November ballot.
“In 2021, a federal district court ruled that Minnesota’s statute governing vacancies in nomination is preempted by federal law and does not apply to a race for U.S. Congress. In the absence of any court order, the Nov. 8, 2022 ballots will remain as printed, and the Congressional District 2 election will proceed as scheduled Nov. 8,” the office said.
Fox 9 aired this video report:
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