Death of state’s GOP spokesman shocks colleagues
Cause of 25-year-old’s death unknown
W. Tucker Keene, the New Mexico Republican Party’s chief spokesman, has died at the age of 25. Police found Keene’s body in his Albuquerque apartment on Sunday after they were called to check on him. A police spokeswoman said there were no signs of foul play and that the Office of the Medical Investigator is investigating the cause of his death.
Keene’s sudden death shocked people in the world of politics who knew him for his energy and enthusiasm.
“He was a brilliant writer, tenacious promoter of our cause, keen political communicator and most importantly, a wonderful person,” state GOP Chairman Ryan Cangiolosi said in a statement.
Raised in Massachusetts, Keene studied political science at Southern Methodist University in suburban Dallas. He was president of the school’s College Republicans chapter and managing editor of the campus newspaper.
He worked on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s successful 2014 election campaign and for a communications consulting firm in Austin.
Keene went to work at the Republican Party of New Mexico as communications director in early 2016, diving into the election season and the task of speaking for a party divided by its own factions and presidential nominee. Keene became known for balancing those competing wings of the party as well as for his attacks on Democrats.