Don Young, who was Alaska’s sole congressman for more than three-fourths of his state’s existence, died Friday.
“It’s with heavy hearts and deep sadness that we announce Congressman Don Young, the Dean of the House and revered champion for Alaska, passed away today while traveling home to Alaska to be with the state and people that he loved,” his office said in a statement.
Young, a Republican and the longest-serving member of Congress, lost consciousness on a flight from Los Angeles to Seattle and couldn’t be resuscitated, said Jack Ferguson, a lobbyist who once served as Young’s chief of staff.
Young served in Congress since 1973. He was sworn in after winning a special election to replace Democrat Nick Begich, who disappeared on a campaign flight.
Alaska GOP Gov. Mike Dunleavy described Young as a “Congressman whom Alaska will remember forever.” U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said, “we have lost a giant.” Wasilla GOP Rep. Cathy Tilton, the leader of the Alaska House Republican minority, called Young “a towering figure in Alaska for more than half a century.”
Deb Haaland, the interior secretary, said she was “terribly sad” to hear of her “dear friend Congressman Don Young’s passing.”
“As dean of the House, Mr. Young taught all of us how to love the people and the states that we represent,” Haaland said. “Everything he did, every day, was for Alaska and its people, whom he loved dearly. He leaves us a tremendous legacy of bipartisanship in service of the greater good.”
State law requires Gov. Dunleavy to call a special election to fill Young’s seat within three months, and no sooner than two months from the date of his death.
