Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-IN) was killed in a car accident Wednesday afternoon, a statement from Walorski’s office shared by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) confirmed.
The statement from Walorski’s office said Walorski’s husband, Dean Swihart, was informed of her death on Wednesday afternoon.
The Republican Study Committee, which Walorski was a member of, also confirmed the GOP congresswoman’s death.
Local news outlets reported that in addition to Walorski, her communications director Emma Thomson and district director Zach Potts were killed in the crash.
The crash reportedly happened around 12:30 p.m. between two vehicles in Elkhart County, Indiana. Walorski was reportedly in an SUV with Potts and Thompson.
Walorski, who was born in South Bend and lived near Elkhart, was running for re-election in Indiana’s second district at the time of her death.
Walorski served in Congress since 2013 and was the top Republican on the House Ethics Committee. Walorski also served on the House Ways and Means Committee, where she was set to take on a leadership role if Republicans took back the House in the midterm elections in November, according to Politico.
Prior to her time in Congress, Walorski served three terms in the state’s legislature.
Walorski and her husband previously worked as missionaries in Romania, where they established a foundation that provided food and medical supplies to impoverished children. Walorski worked as a TV news reporter in South Bend before she began her career in politics.
Tributes to Walorski poured in shortly after news of her death broke.
