Indiana Republican David “Red” Worrall, a former member of the Clarksville Town Council who was running as an at-large candidate, died at a polling station on Tuesday only hours before votes were tallied.
According to a statement from town officials on Tuesday afternoon, Worrall was greeting voters at the polling station at Clarksville’s Renaissance Academy when he suddenly collapsed. He was taken to the hospital by ambulance but died shortly after reaching the facility.
Clarksville is in southern Indiana, across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky.
Worrall served one term as the District 3 representative on the town council and was the owner of an auto repair shop, Worrall’s Automotive and Machine Shop.
Asked why he was running for the town council, Worrall said he had been approached by several groups of people who wanted him “to try and get back in.” He reported having had “some health issues” during the last election that had held him back “from getting out and working and talking to people in the neighborhoods.”
He had promised “to give the people of Clarksville a voice” if elected, and said he had “the utmost respect” for all his opponents.
The town’s at-large seats were won by Democrat Bob McEwen and Republican Jennifer Voignier, while Worrall came in third. Voignier was already a councilwoman at-large.
“It is with heavy hearts that we extend our deepest condolences to the family and friends of David ‘Red’ Worrall, who passed away earlier this afternoon,” a statement by the Town of Clarksville Administration and Town Council read.
“A former member of the Clarksville Town Council and current At-Large candidate, David’s dedication to our community was truly commendable. We will never forget his passion for public service and his unwavering desire to create positive change in our Town,” it added.
“David’s memory will live on in the hearts of those who knew him and the community he strived to serve,” it said.
Tuesday was a big day for elections across the country, with Ohioans being called to vote on whether to enshrine abortion in their state constitution and two governorships at stake in the South.
A majority of 56.3 percent of Ohioans—according to the Associated Press—voted yes on Issue 1, protecting abortion access under the state constitution. Some 57 percent of Ohio voters also cast their ballots in favor of legalizing marijuana.
Democrat Andy Beshear was re-elected in the deep-red state of Kentucky, while Republican Tate Reeves secured a second term as governor of Mississippi.
I had just joined Frank Rizzo’s re-election (after two terms of the disastrous Wilson Goode) campaign when he, tragically, dropped dead while out stumping the neighborhoods of Philly. Sudden cardiac death, I assume. He wasn’t that old. For those who say this Indiana candidate died because he was obese, that is likely not accurate. I have known quite a few individuals who just dropped, one was a physician who was ultra fit. He died while surfing. Sometimes there’s an undiagnosed blockage, aneurysm, etc. Thin people also develop atherosclerosis.
So very true….being heavy doesn’t help, but being thin won’t save you either.
RIP, So sad for his family to lose him in this way.