U.S. Senate candidate drops out after personal tragedy
U.S. Senate candidate Clark White ended his campaign after his wife unexpectedly died, Utah Republican Party chairman Rob Axson announced on Wednesday.
Axson broke the news to eight other GOP candidates and a room full of state delegates during a panel discussion hosted by the Eagle Forum in Orem.
White’s wife, Brandy Camille DeBruin White, died the morning of Sunday, April 7, according to her obituary. She is survived by her husband and their two young boys, who are 1 and 6 years old. The older son has cerebral palsy, Axson said, a brain condition that appears in infancy and impairs muscle movement.
The tragedy “necessitated his need to step away from the race,” Axson said. “I would ask that we keep Clark White and his two sons in our prayers and make sure that as Utahns we step forward to support people in their challenging times and especially an unforeseen tragedy as that is.”
Axson directed attendees who were interested in assisting White’s family to donate to a support fund.
During his response to the panel’s first question, U.S. Senate candidate Josh Randall acknowledged the loss.
“I’ll say to start, I’m a little disturbed to hear news of one of our fellow candidates having lost his wife in the last week,” Randall said. “That’s hard news to hear right before answering these questions.”
White filed his declaration of candidacy with the state on Jan. 2. The motto of his campaign, which focused on political corruption, was “Help me do something better!”
White said he was working two jobs to support his family, one of which was as a maintenance technician at Gossner Foods in Logan, according to his LinkedIn.
On Wednesday, White posted on X, “The light in my world is gone. I love you Brandy with all my heart.”
The number of Republicans competing in the Republican primary election to replace Sen. Mitt Romney is now 10.
