Richard Ojeda Announces Father's Death Days After North Carolina Election Victory
In a November 6 public statement, North Carolina congressman-elect Richard Ojeda said his father died that morning after living with Parkinson's disease, days after learning of Ojeda's election win.
November 6, 2026 ? Original news, retrospective coverage. North Carolina congressman-elect Richard Ojeda announced publicly on Friday, November 6, that his father, Richard Ojeda Sr., had died that morning following years with Parkinson's disease. Ojeda said he was able to tell his father about his victory in the November 3 election before his death. The announcement was made by Ojeda himself, not inferred from podcast discussion. In his public statement on X, Ojeda described telling his father the election result and dedicated his coming congressional term to him. People magazine reported the announcement and the video Ojeda shared. The Hill's contemporaneous account also described the tribute. This report does not speculate about private circumstances beyond Ojeda's own public disclosure. Ojeda defeated incumbent Richard Hudson in North Carolina's 9th Congressional District in unofficial November 3 results, 138,707 to 132,692 votes, according to WUNC's November 4 reporting. Certification was still pending as of this report. The existing Dabbleverse election explainer documents Ojeda's earlier appearances in the Blind Mike and Stuttering John podcast orbit. That is the connection to Dabbleverse; those programmes are not sources for the family announcement. What changed: This is a separate, dated personal announcement after the election, not a second report of the election result. The announcement is attributed to Ojeda and independently covered by established outlets. Respect for the family's privacy is warranted.