Two-term Democratic state Rep. Claudia Griffith dies at 67

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) – Two-term Democratic state Rep. Claudia Griffith, a candidate for a seat in the Oklahoma Senate, has died.

Oklahoma House Speaker Charles McCall’s office said in a statement that Griffith died on Saturday. Democratic Party officials say Griffith died after suffering an apparent heart attack. She was 67.

Griffith was elected in 2014 to the House’s District 45 in central Oklahoma and was re-elected in 2016. She campaigned for the Democratic nomination for a state Senate seat in the June 26 primary election and was cast into a runoff election on Aug. 28. Under state law, Griffith’s name will remain on the ballot because the deadline for withdrawing has passed.

A registered nurse, Griffith was executive director of Health for Friends, a nonprofit group that provides health services to the underserved.