Bruce Giudici was canvassing Sunday in Calaveras County, a rural area of Northern California east of Stockton, when he fell on a steep driveway and suffered a head injury.
The homeowner called 911, and Giudici was transported to San Joaquin General Hospital, where he died the following day.
Within hours of his death, Giudici’s campaign announced on social media that it would continue operating rather than suspend its efforts.
The District 5 race is still scheduled for November, with Giudici’s name remaining on the ballot.
“Bruce was passionate about preventing Clyde Clapp from returning to the Board of Supervisors,” said Giudicu’s campaign website.
“Bruce’s fight will not end today. We intend to continue his campaign and honor Bruce’s wishes by working to elect him in November,” the site noted further.
The strategy remains legally possible because California’s deadline for replacing a deceased candidate on the ballot passed Aug. 27, 68 days before the Nov. 3 general election.
Because Giudici died after that cutoff, his name will remain on the ballot and votes cast for him will still be counted.
Campaign volunteer Carrie Biggs-Adams told KCRA that supporters hope voters will continue backing Giudici despite his death and rally behind the campaign’s plan.
If Giudici wins posthumously, California law provides that the office would be considered vacant at the beginning of the new term.
Reporting on the race says the governor would then appoint someone to fill the vacancy.
“We would hope, as people are understanding that Bruce has died, the people will pull together behind somebody who we will propose to the governor to be appointed to the position,” Biggs-Adams continued.
Giudici and his opponent, Clapp, were familiar political rivals.
Clapp told KCRA that the two had faced each other three times.
In the June primary, Giudici finished first with 1,061 votes, narrowly ahead of Clapp’s 1,023 — a difference of just 38 votes.
Clapp previously served on the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors from 2017 to 2018.
During the campaign, Giudici criticized that record, arguing on his website that Clapp “had his chance to make meaningful change for District 5 eight years ago and failed.”
He told KCRA that Giudici’s death was tragic and said Giudici’s family was in his prayers.
Giudici had campaigned heavily on fiscal oversight and government accountability.
His campaign biography cited his background in governmental financial management and said he had led more than 20 fiscal audits involving contracts, invoices and agency reporting.
“Coming from fiscal, and knowing how important it is to make certain that things get done properly, (it is important) they’re looked at in depth, especially these days, when there’s a (county budgetary deficit),” he told the Calaveras Enterprise before his death.
“It’s not a substantial deficit, but it is a deficit. That sort of attention to detail is something that we need on that board, and so, I think I will help fill that role,” he added.
The situation differs from election fraud or ballot-integrity disputes elsewhere because there is no allegation of wrongdoing in the Calaveras County race.
Instead, the unusual circumstances stem from state election law governing candidates who die shortly before an election.
The campaign has not publicly identified who it would propose for Gov. Gavin Newsom to appoint.
As of the latest reporting, the governor’s office had not publicly announced how it would approach a possible appointment resulting from the race.
Reports said that Giudici won his primary by a very narrow margin. The reports also noted that there is concern among many that continuing his campaign following his death is dishonest.
