Minnesota’s Second Congressional seat will remain vacant when the new Congressional session begins in January because the state cancelled the November election due to the sudden death of a third-party candidate, Politico reports.
Adam Weeks, 38, a farmer running under the Legal Marijuana Now Party, died this week of undisclosed causes. He was facing off against incumbent Democrat Angie Craig and republican challenger Tyler Kistner.
Minnesota law requires that the election be canceled any time a major party candidate dies within 79 days of a scheduled election, and a special election be held 12 weeks after the previously scheduled election. The Legal Marijuana Now Party is considered a major party in the state because it received more than 5% of votes in the primaries.
Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said that voters should fill out ballots as they normally would and that a selection in the race would not invalidate their ballots.
The state law requiring the delay was enacted after the death of Democratic Senator Paul Wellstone in a plane crash in 2002 days before the election. In that case, former Vice President Walter Mondale was rushed onto the ballot to replace Wellstone. Mondale, unable to campaign due to the election schedule, lost the seat to republican Norm Coleman.