Loeffler campaign staffer dies in car crash

A 20-year-old campaign aide to Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R) died Friday in a car crash in Georgia ahead of Loeffler’s campaign rally with Vice President Pence.

The campaign staffer, identified as Harrison Deal, was also a family friend of Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) and a former intern for Sen. David Perdue (R), according to Fox News.

Loeffler expressed her condolences for Deal’s family on Twitter, calling him a “beloved member” of her campaign team. 

“More importantly, Harrison was a smart, bright, loving, loyal and outstanding young man,” she wrote in a subsequent tweet, before asking her fellow Georgians to join her in praying for his family.

More importantly, Harrison was a smart, bright, loving, loyal and outstanding young man. Harrison embodied the very best of this campaign – and the very best of our state.

— Kelly Loeffler (@KLoeffler) December 4, 2020

We will forever cherish and honor Harrison’s memory, and I ask every Georgian to join us in praying for his family during this difficult time.

— Kelly Loeffler (@KLoeffler) December 4, 2020

Loeffler and Kemp opted not to attend the Pence rally in Savannah after hearing of Deal’s death, the Atlanta  Journal-Constitution reports.

A police spokeswoman told the Journal-Constituion that Deal died in a three-vehicle car crash on an interstate in Georgia on Friday morning.

“Today, we lost a member of our ‘Kemp Strong’ family and words cannot express how much Harrison Deals’ life, love and support meant to us,” the governor said in a statement he shared on Twitter, along with a photo of Deal with his family. “He was a person of deep faith, unmatched integrity, and incredible kindness. Harrison was the Kemp son and brother we never had.”

Statement from the Kemp Family on the Passing of Harrison Deal: pic.twitter.com/l5uSWuo05H

— Governor Brian P. Kemp (@GovKemp) December 4, 2020

Perdue joined the Georgia lawmakers in expressing his grief in a series of tweets, writing that he was “devastated” to learn of Deal’s death.

Bonnie and I are devastated to learn of the passing of Harrison Deal, a young man from Bulloch County. Harrison interned in my Atlanta office in the summer of 2019, and was currently working as a field representative for Senator Loeffler’s campaign.

— David Perdue (@Perduesenate) December 4, 2020

We are praying for his parents, Curt and Jenni Deal, and his sisters, Hannah and Halli. I ask the people of Georgia to join us in keeping the entire Deal family in their hearts on this terrible day.

— David Perdue (@Perduesenate) December 4, 2020

Loeffler is campaigning in one of two Jan. 5 Senate runoffs in Georgia.