Politician wins election days after shooting himself dead amid fraud allegations

A politician has won an election in the US, days after killing himself. Bill Nojay has been picked by voters to represent the party in the New York State Assembly’s 133rd District in November - despite shooting himself in front of a police officer in Rochester on Friday. His election means that local Republican leaders, who encouraged voters to back Mr Nojay despite his death, will now pick a new candidate to take on Democrat challenger Barbara Baer in November.

They really did some things in the past few days that were in poor taste in my opinion to sway the vote. I really believe we would have fared better with Mr Nojay still alive

Mr Nojay’s Republican rival Richard Milne

Father-of-three Mr Nojay was elected to the Assembly in 2012, representing a district that covers parts of Rochester and the Finger Lakes area. But the vocal campaigner for gun rights and Donald Trump supporter was being investigated by the FBI, and was facing a fraud trial in Cambodia. He was due to surrender to federal agenets to face fraud charges on the afternoon he died. The 59-year-old shot himself at his family’s cemetery plot in Rochester near his brother’s grave.

All the people I’ve worked with have been honourable people, but again, some of them have done well, and some of them have stumbled.

Bill Nojay denies any wrongdoing

bill nojay