Sunday, Republicans in the Colorado State House said that their minority leader had died suddenly. An aide said in an email that House Minority Leader Hugh McKean died at his home early in the morning. State Rep. McKean was running for a fourth term, and his death was called “tragic and sudden.”

A statement from the Colorado House Republicans says that funeral plans are being made and that details will be made public once they are finalized. The Larimer County Coroner’s Office did an autopsy and wrote that McKean had died of a heart attack.

“On 10/30/2022, the Larimer County Coroner’s Office responded to Loveland, CO to investigate the death of a 55-year-old male. The decedent was identified as Colorado State Representative Hugh McKean of Loveland, CO. Rep. McKean was transported to the Larimer County Coroner’s Office where a forensic autopsy was performed,” according to the Larimer County Coroner website.

Since he was running for re-election in November’s midterms, CBS News reported what will happen next.

McKean was working on his own re-election but was running unopposed in the District 51 race. Because he was unopposed, McKean will be considered a member-elect of the legislature, the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office explained. A vacancy committee will meet within a month of McKean’s death to begin the process of filling his House seat. That vacancy committee will be established by the Larimer County Republican Party in accordance with state statutes.