Craighead County Republican committee chairman Steven Farmer has died of COVID-19, according to a post on Facebook from his daughter, Audrey Haynie. It is unclear when or where Farmer contracted the disease, but Haynie had been providing updates on her father’s progress on Facebook. She said he had been admitted to the ICU on September 18. On September 19 she reported he was showing improvement, but then his health sharply declined and eventually he was sedated, something he never recovered from.
Just days before Farmer was admitted to the ICU, his committee hosted a largely maskless event with special guests Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Rep. Louie Gohmert, America’s dumbest congressman, who was just recovering from COVID-19 himself.
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Farmer did not attend the event, but he did share photos from several Republican events throughout the summer. Arkansas state representative Jason Rapert tagged Farmer in several photos at a maskless event in late June.
Will this be a wake-up call to Republicans in Arkansas? Will they show a little more consideration to their loyalists and demand mask usage from here on out? Don’t hold your breath. The pro-death party is determined.