Republican candidate who died of COVID-19 wins North Dakota seat

A Republican Candidate who contested  for state Legislature in North Dakota has won the seat although he succumed to coronavirus last month .

On Wednesday, officials said that David Andahl, a businessman and farmer, died on October 5 aged 55.

David's family took to his Facebook campaign page to announce his death. 

The family statement read, "He has been a public servant for many years and was looking forward to the opportunity to serve in the state legislature."

David won the state legislature race on Tuesday with a third of the votes cast in North Dakota's 8th congressional district. 

The Attorney General of North Dakota  Wayne Stenehjem said the situation would be treated in the same way as a legislator stepping down or retiring, and that the local Republican party would name a replacement.

In 2018, another Republican candidate, Dennis Hof, won elections in Nevada a few weeks after his death.

The recent estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau shows that the state of North Dakota has the highest per capita Covid-19 case rate in the country.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week showed that the state's Covid-19 rate is over 150 cases per 100,000 people.