Missouri state Rep. Sara Walsh's husband dies after contracting COVID-19

ASHLAND, Mo. -- A Missouri state lawmaker who is running for Congress has announced her husband has died after the couple was diagnosed with COVID-19.

Republican State Rep. Sara Walsh of Ashland thanked everyone who had prayed for her husband, Steve Walsh, in announcing Thursday in a tweet he had died. He was 63.

Neither she nor her husband had been vaccinated against COVID-19.

Sara Walsh, who is running for U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler's 4th Congressional District seat, said over the weekend she had recovered and was out of quarantine.

She said previously she did not get the vaccine because it has not been fully approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration and she was concerned about risk factors, although research has shown it is safe.

KRCG-TV reported she also said she was not concerned about being vaccinated because she had been healthy since the pandemic began.

Gov. Mike Parson held a moment of silence Thursday for the Walsh family while speaking at the Governor's Ham Breakfast at the State Fair.

And Hartzler said in a statement Steve Walsh, who served as her press secretary, had "an enormous heart" and asked for privacy for his family. Sarah Walsh described her husband in an earlier tweet as her "sweet love."