INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A former Republican party official on Wednesday said it’s now up to party insiders to decide who will face U.S. Rep. Andre Carson in November.

Jennifer Pace took home 31% of the vote in Tuesday’s Republican primary for the Seventh Congressional District, beating three other candidates. There’s just one problem: Pace died on March 6.

Tom John, former Marion County Republican Party Chair and a contributor on News 8’s “All INdiana Politics,” says it’s unusual for deceased candidates to win an election but it does happen. He says that’s why state law allows political parties to fill ballot vacancies after an election.

Feb. 16 was the deadline for any candidate to withdraw from a primary. The Indiana Election Division decided ballot access challenges on Feb. 27. Both deadlines passed while Pace was still alive. John says state law prohibits last-minute changes to the ballot because all 92 county clerks have to be on the same page.

“You can’t be changing ballots at the last minute,” he said. “And that’s why, essentially, once it’s locked down, there’s not much you can do and you have to let the process play out.”

A similar situation exists in State Senate District 34. The late Sen. Jean Breaux, who died on March 20, won her primary, but she was unopposed, unlike Pace.

Under state law, in the event of a vacancy on the ballot after a primary, state parties may choose a candidate for the general election by caucus. The deadline to do so this year is July 3. John said precinct committee members will choose the candidate. He said the situation is an example of what happens when people don’t vote or don’t research the candidates.

“If you don’t go out, you never know what’s going to happen,” he said. “Over my time in politics, I’ve seen races determined by one, two, three votes.”

An Indiana Republican Party spokesperson told News 8 that the election results will be certified May 24. Once that happens and party officials receive an official notice of a ballot vacancy, they will have 30 days to hold the caucus.

Whoever Republican choose will face Carson, who easily defeated two challengers in the Democratic primary, and Libertarian Rusty Johnson, who was chosen at that party’s nominating convention earlier this year.