MO Political Aide Dead of Apparent Suicide, One Month After Boss Killed Himself

Spence Jackson, a spokesman for the late Missouri state auditor Tom Schweich, was found dead Sunday night of an apparent suicide.

This comes just one month after Schweich’s suicide, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the end of February. His death roiled the Missouri GOP after it was revealed that Schweich believed himself to be a target of a “whisper campaign” about his religion, one started by Missouri GOP chairman John Hancock.

After Schweich’s death, Jackson spoke out about the alleged whisper campaign, which Hancock denied. Per KMOX:

Following Schweich’s suicide last month, Jackson called on Missouri politicians to be more civil. He also publicly called on state Republican party chairman John Hancock to resign, after Schweich had alleged Hancock was conducting a “whispering campaign” about his religion.

One GOP donor confirmed the whsiper campaign, saying in an affidavit, “The meaning I took from Mr. Hancock’s statement and tone of his comments was clear: He (Tom Schweich) is Jewish — in case you didn’t know — and that being Jewish is a negative attribute for Tom Schweich’s gubernatorial race.”

No further details were released about Jackson’s death.

[h/t KMOX]
[Image via LinkedIn]

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