Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García (D-Ill.) announced Tuesday that his daughter Rosa had died the previous night.

“Last night our beloved daughter, Rosa, passed away at the age of 28. Our family is completely heartbroken,” García said in a statement.

“Rosa joined our family as a young girl who had been in the foster care system. We did our best to provide a stable, loving, and welcoming home for her,” he added.

The cause of death was not immediately announced.

“Our family asks for privacy and welcomes your thoughts and prayers during this most difficult time,” García concluded his statement.

García, a mainstay of Chicago politics for more than three decades, was elected to Congress in 2018.

A two-time candidate for mayor of the Windy City, García failed to qualify for Tuesday’s runoff after receiving around 14% of the general election vote on Feb. 28.

García is backing fellow progressive Democrat Brandon Johnson in Tuesday’s runoff election, joining socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), progressive Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and “Squad” member Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.).

Polls show Johnson neck-and-neck in the runoff against ex-Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas, another Democrat who has battled accusations of party disloyalty.

Chicago was bracing for severe weather patterns on election day, with hail and potential tornadoes ahead of polls closing at 7 p.m. local time.

A new poll released Monday showed Vallas with a slim lead over Johnson.

The Victory Research survey had Vallas at 49.6% and Johnson at 45.4%, with a margin of error of 3.27%. More than 900 likely Chicago voters were polled between March 31 and April 2.

The pair got the most votes in the general election, ousting incumbent Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who only received around 17% of the vote.

Lightfoot blamed racism and sexism for her defeat.

“I’m a black woman in America. Of course,” she told reporters, while claiming her time in office had been “the honor of a lifetime.”

The Chicago mayor faced fierce backlash for her handling of a crime surge in recent years, with 804 homicides recorded in 2021.

During her campaign, Lightfoot said voters on Chicago’s South Side, which is predominantly black, shouldn’t go to the polls if they wouldn’t cast a vote for her, claiming a vote for “somebody not named Lightfoot is a vote for Chuy Garcia or Paul Vallas.”

“If you want them controlling your fate and your destiny, then stay home,” Lightfoot told voters at one campaign event. “Then don’t vote.”

García shot back that Lightfoot’s statement was “disqualifying rhetoric for anyone hoping to lead a Chicago that is a multi-racial and multi-ethnic city.”