LOS ANGELES, California - November 3, 2010 - Voters in Los Angeles County have re-elected a state senator who died last month, setting up a special election to fill the vacant seat.
The heavily Democrat 28th Senate District elected Senator Jenny Oropeza, a Democrat from Long Beach who died at age 53 of complications from a blood clot.
She passed away on October 20, too late to replace her on the ballot. Oropeza missed most of this year's Senate session because of the clot found in her abdomen in May.
Oropeza was the choice of 54% of voters on Tuesday, defeating Republican John Stammreich.
If a majority had chosen Stammreich, he would have won without the need for a special election.
She had served 22 years as an elected public servant, including six in the California Assembly and four more in the state Senate.
It's not the first time a dead candidate has prevailed in an election.
In 2000, Mel Carnahan beat incumbent Republican Senator John Ashcroft for a U.S. Senate seat from Missouri. Carnahan died in a plane crash on October 16, 2000, three weeks before the election. It was too late to remove his name from the ballot.
After his defeat, Ashcroft was chosen for the position of U.S. Attorney General by President-elect George W. Bush.
During his tenure, Ashcroft championed the USA PATRIOT Act and famously covered a partially nude statue at the Justice Department.
There are also at least three instances of voters choosing deceased candidates for the House.