Dead Candidate Won Nearly 11K Votes In MN, Unofficial Results Show

MINNESOTA — A congressional candidate who died in early October received nearly 11,000 votes in the general election, according to unofficial results.

Paula Overby, the Legal Marijuana Now Party candidate in Minnesota's Second District, died on Oct. 5. Early voting started on Sept. 23.

Democratic Rep. Angie Craig is projected to win reelection in the district:

• Legal Marijuana Now Paula M. Overby — 10,730
• Republican Tyler Kistner — 148,578
• Democratic-Farmer-Labor Angie Craig — 165,581
• WRITE-IN — 585

Overby's death marked the second time in two campaign cycles that the Legal Marijuana Now candidate in the Second District passed away.

In 2020, candidate Adam Weeks died weeks before the November election, triggering a legal battle over whether the election should be delayed. Under state law, the election should have been delayed.

However, a federal judge ruled that the election had to take place on Nov. 3, as scheduled. According to the court, Minnesota’s statute governing vacancies is preempted by federal law and can not apply to a race for U.S. Congress.

That same ruling applied to the 2022 election.

The candidate's son, Tyler, told Minnesota Public Radio that Overby was recently hospitalized with a heart valve problem.