Washington Senator Doug Ericksen, Who Fought Vaccine Mandate, Dies After COVID Battle

Washington state Sen. Doug Ericksen, a Republican who opposed vaccine mandates, has died after a battle with COVID-19.

Ericksen's death came weeks after he revealed he had tested positive for COVID-19 during a trip to El Salvador, but his cause of death wasn't immediately released. He was 52.

"We are heartbroken to share that our husband and father passed away on Friday," Ericksen's wife, Tasha, and his two daughters said in a statement issued through the Washington State Senate Republican Caucus on Saturday. "Please keep our family in your prayers and thank you for continuing to respect our privacy in this extremely difficult time."

Ericksen, who represented the 42nd District in Whatcom County, had sent an email to his Republican colleagues in the Washington House and Senate in November saying he had tested positive for COVID-19 shortly after he arrived in El Salvador.

He asked them for advice on how to receive monoclonal antibodies, which were not available in the country.

"I cannot get back home, and it's to the point that I feel it would be beneficial for me to receive an iv of monoclonal antibodies (Regeneron)," he wrote. "I have a doctor here who can administer the iv, but the product is not available here."

He arranged a medevac flight from El Salvador shortly after sending the email, former state Rep. Luanne Van Werven later said. Van Werven said Ericksen was recovering at a hospital in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but it was not clear where he was when he died.

Ericksen had been in the Washington Legislature since 1998, serving six terms in the state House of Representatives before being elected to the state Senate in 2010.

He was a former leader of Donald Trump's campaign in Washington. He sought to get rid of Washington's system of all-mail voting and require photo ID to vote following Trump's election loss in 2020.

Ericksen was also an outspoken critic of Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee's COVID-19 emergency orders, and introduced legislation earlier this year that he said was intended to protect the rights of those who do not want to get vaccinated.

He repeatedly hit out at Inslee after the governor announced that state employees would face termination if they were not fully vaccinated by October 18.

"This is one time I wish I wasn't a prophet," Ericksen said in an August statement. "But it was easy to see in January where this was heading, after months of emergency decrees from the governor's office and no input from the people. When our colleagues voted to extend the governor's emergency powers indefinitely, they invited this abuse of government authority."

He added in that statement: "This bill isn't pro-vaccine or anti-vaccine. It is pro-individual choice. We need to respect the right of people to make decisions for themselves."

It was unclear if Ericksen had been vaccinated against the coronavirus himself or why he was visiting El Salvador. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people should make sure they are fully vaccinated before visiting the country, where current levels of COVID-19 are "high."

The Washington State Senate Republican Caucus has been contacted for comment.