State Sen. Rick Gudex, R-Fond du Lac, was pronounced dead early Wednesday morning due to a self-inflicted gunshot. The Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office investigation is still ongoing,
Gudex, 48, was elected
Walker released a statement this morning expressing his condolences.
“Rick was a good man who served his community and state well, and he will be missed,” Walker said in the statement. “Our hearts and our prayers go out to his wife Kim and their two children during this difficult time.”
Democrats and Republicans alike mourned the loss of the senator.
“Despite our being on opposite sides of the political spectrum, Rick was always civil to work with and a decent man,” said state Rep. Gordon Hintz, D-Oshkosh, in a statement. “We were able to work together well on many issues that benefitted our communities and state.”
Although the senator represented one of the most competitive senate districts in the state, Tim Lakin, Gudex's Senate chief of staff, claimed “he was always willing to listen to both sides of the story.”
“He was always fair...He was a true public servant,” Lakin told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
While in the Senate, he served as the chairman of the Economic Development & Commerce Committee, the vice chairman of the Workforce Development Committee and was a board member of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation
The Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office said they will announce more information on the death in the coming days.
