Washington State Senator Doug Ericksen became sick with Covid-19 last month while on a trip to El Salvador. The 52-year-old Republican — who had bashed Washington Governor Jay Inslee for his vaccine mandates — then disappeared from the public eye. On Saturday his family announced that he had died.
According to CBS, after coming down with Covid in November, Ericksen took a medevac flight to a Florida hospital, and "no information about his location or condition had since been released."
From The New York Times:
Mr. Ericksen, who represented much of Whatcom County, had served in the Legislature since 1999, becoming a prominent conservative voice and an early backer of Donald J. Trump's presidential campaign. Over the pandemic, he led efforts to combat Gov. Jay Inslee's coronavirus restrictions, introducing legislation that would have prohibited vaccine mandates and calling for the governor to resign.
"Washington State is No. 1 in government coercion," Mr. Ericksen said in a statement last month.
It's unclear whether Mr. Ericksen had been vaccinated.
From CNN:
In an email sent to lawmakers in Washington state on November 11, Ericksen said he "took a trip to El Salvador and tested positive for COVID shortly after (he) arrived," and asked for help in getting the treatment flown to the country to help in his recovery, according to the Seattle Times, which said it obtained the email from a state Senate staffer.
Ericksen had repeatedly called for the resignation of Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee, in numerous posts on his website. His latest news release, dated November 1, said the state was the "national leader in authoritarian government."
"Throughout this COVID situation, Inslee has been out of step with the rest of the country," Ericksen said in the release. "He says his vengeful act was based on science, but it's certainly not the science understood by public health officials and elected leaders in every other state of the union."
Inslee released a statement Saturday in response to news of Ericksen's death, saying he and his wife send "our deep condolences to Sen. Doug Ericksen's family, friends and colleagues. Our hearts are with them."
The list of conservative leaders dying of Covid-19 — competing with the list of anti-maskers diverting flights — is astounding to say the least.
