NEW YORK: GOP Legislator Commits Suicide Before Federal Fraud Trial, Wins Republican Primary Anyway

The Rochester Democrat & Chronicle reports:

The late William Nojay prevailed in a Republican primary in the 133rd Assembly district, outpolling challenger Rick Milne despite having died by suicide Friday morning.

With 88 percent of voting districts counted, including all districts from Monroe and Livingston counties, Nojay received 2,098 votes (58 percent) to Milne’s 1,539 in unofficial results.

Milne won Monroe County by a few dozen votes, but Nojay more than made up the difference in more conservative Livingston County, where a majority of the voters live.

The Republican Party chairmen in Monroe, Livingston and Steuben counties now have 10 days to nominate a replacement for the November ballot to run against Democrat Barbara Baer. The situation is the same for the Conservative, Independence and Reform parties, all of which had also nominated Nojay.

Nojay had been scheduled to appear in federal court Friday on fraud charges related to a $1.8 million trust fund he managed for a longtime client and friend, according to sources familiar with the case.

Those charges would likely have influenced at least some voters to shift their support from Nojay to Milne. As a posthumous candidate, though, Nojay’s perceived fitness for public office is no longer relevant.

Nojay was first elected to his largely rural upstate district in 2012 on an anti-gun control platform which, as you’ll see in the video below, became the centerpiece of his two terms. You get one guess on his method of suicide.