ANALYSIS — Talking about death is hard, and talking about politics isn’t much easier. Tackling the two together can feel nearly impossible, but that’s a necessary conversation happening now and for the foreseeable future.
From the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg back in September 2020 to stories surrounding former President Joe Biden’s health and the deaths of three House members already this year, there’s been a disproportionate amount of attention on aging Democrats.
In fact, the eight most recent members of Congress (House and Senate) to die in office have all been Democrats, going back nearly three years. The last incumbent Republican to die was Indiana Rep. Jackie Walorski, who was killed in a car crash in August 2022. It’s been more than three years since a Republican lawmaker died of natural causes. (Alaska Rep. Don Young died in March 2022 at 88 years old.)
