US election: Winning legislative candidate had died from Covid 19

David Andahl, a 55-year-old rancher from North Dakota, died last month but his name remained on the ballot to be elected as State Representative District 8. Photo / Supplied

A North Dakota state legislative candidate has been elected despite dying last month due to complications from Covid 19.

David Andahl, 55, won the June primary over the longtime incumbent Governor Doug Burgum but died on October 5.

His mother, Pat Andahl, told the Bismarck Tribune at the time her son had been admitted to hospital with the coronavirus disease and died after being sick for about four days.

Pat Andahl said her son had been "very careful" about the pandemic and was passionate about the idea of serving in government.

"He had a lot of feelings for his county ... and wanting to make things better, and his heart was in farming. He wanted things better for farmers and the coal industry."

Andahl and fellow District 8 House candidate Dave Nehring won the Republican endorsements and voters' nominations to defeat one of North Dakota's most powerful lawmakers, Republican Jeff Delzer, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.

The June primary drew the attention of Burgum, a Republican, who gave more than $1.8 million to a political action committee that successfully targeted Delzer's seat.

Delzer did not advance to the November 3 general election, and he told the Bismarck Tribune that he thought the governor's influence in the race wasn't right.

Before the 2019 Legislature convened, Delzer led a rule change that shifted how lawmakers considered Burgum's proposals. Burgum later said he felt his executive budget had been "tossed in the garbage".

Senator Howard Anderson Jr., Republican for Turtle Lake, is running unopposed for District 8′s Senate seat. District 8 covers a swath of the state east and north of Bismarck.

North Dakota health officials on Tuesday reported 503 new cases of Covid-19, three more coronavirus-related deaths and another increase in hospital admissions, which have now topped 100 for six straight days.

There have been 739.1 new cases per 100,000 people in North Dakota over the past two weeks, which ranks first in the country for new cases per capita, according to the CovidTracking Project. North Dakota has confirmed 24,464 virus cases since the start of the pandemic.

- AP