Former Congressman Traficant Dies

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Former U.S. Congressman James Traficant died over the weekend from injuries sustained when a vintage tractor flipped over onto him on his family’s farm near Youngstown.  Traficant is one of only two members of Congress to be expelled by the body since the Civil War.

The former Democrat turned Independent served seven years in federal prison for a variety of corruption charges. In 2002, while incarcerated, Traficant ran as an independent to re-capture his seat. His campaign was conducted from the United States Penitentiary in Allenwood, Pennsylvania.

Traficant won 15% of the vote in that race and went on to serve out his jail sentence, getting released on probation in 2009. Once free, the bombastic former Congressman against sought election to his old seat, winning 16% of the vote as an independent in the 2010 election.

Traficant was briefly a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988 and reportedly flirted with various third parties in his later years.

“Mr. Traficant was a complex man,” said Dave Betras, chairman of the Mahoning County Democratic Party. “He gave voice to the frustrations and anxieties of the common man. The public felt he was one of them and because of that connection, they supported him in good times and in bad. He was a larger than life character who will long be remembered.”

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