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Maryland Governor Candidate Kevin Kamenetz Dies of Heart Attack

A top candidate running for governor of Maryland died Thursday morning at a local hospital after suffering a heart attack overnight, The Hill reported.

Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz was one of the leading candidates in the Democratic primary. Polls showed him running close to Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker, another of the leading contenders.

Baltimore County police said in a statement the 60-year-old was transported to the University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center after complaining of feeling ill. Doctors pronounced him dead at 3:22 a.m.

Kamenetz had participated in a forum at Bowie State on Wednesday, hours before he suffered the heart attack. The Democratic gubernatorial primary is June 26.

Gov. Larry Hogan ordered Maryland state flags to be lowered to half-staff in Kamenetz’s memory. Hogan called Kamenetz “a dedicated public servant in Baltimore County for more than two decades.”

In a tweet, Baker called Kamenetz’s death “sad, shocking news.”

Contact Alyssa Fisher at [email protected] or on Twitter, @alyssalfisher

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