Obama Staffer Dies Suddenly at Chicago HQ
A Jewish Obama campaign staffer collapsed in the Chicago campaign headquarters and died.
Alex Okrent, 29, died on July 13. He was part of the campaign’s advertising department, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. He had worked on Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign and his 2004 U.S. Senate campaign, the newspaper reported.
Obama personally Tweeted: “A beloved member of our campaign family, Alex Okrent, passed away today. Our prayers are with his loved ones. We will miss you, Alex. -bo.” He also reportedly called Okrent’s family to personally express his condolences.
Okrent had been planning his next move, something less “taxing,” for after the November elections, the Chicago Tribune reported.
A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism so that we can be prepared for whatever news 2025 brings.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
