Top Republican Lawmaker Dies Suddenly at 55

Top Colorado Republican Lawmaker Dies Suddenly at 55

Colorado state House Republicans announced the sudden death of their minority leader Sunday, according to a Washington Examiner report.

House Minority Leader Hugh McKean, representing the Loveland area, died at his home in the early morning, an aide said in an email. Marshall Zelinger, a reporter for 9News, in Colorado, included a portion of the email in a Twitter post.

No cause of death has been officially released yet to explain the 55-year-old’s sudden demise. State Rep. McKean was running for a fourth term, according to a report in Colorado Politics.

Funeral services are being planned and details will be made public once finalized, according to a statement from  Colorado House Republicans.

“Hugh spoke about Coloradons not in the abstract but as real, living people with jobs, loves and real-life successes and problems,” Colorado House Republicans added in their statement. “Families facing hardships were not faceless pie graphs on a page to Hugh. He saw the faces of his own children, of his parents, long-time neighbors and of Coloradons that he would always call friends.”

McKean is survived by his partner, Amy Parks, and two children — Aiden, 21, and Hanna, 23.

He will be missed by colleagues on both sides of the aisle in the Colorado legislature.

“The entire Democratic Caucus is heartbroken by Leader McKean’s passing,” Colorado House Democrats declared in a statement. “He was loving and kind, and he brought tremendous joy to the Capitol. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, his loved ones, and the House GOP.”