Former US Rep. Charlie Wilson of Ohio dies at 70

Former Rep. Charles Wilson of Ohio. (AP)

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio Democratic Party says former Congressman Charlie Wilson, who represented southeastern Ohio in Washington for two terms after winning a write-in campaign, has died. He was 70.

Democratic Party officials say Wilson died Sunday afternoon in a Florida hospital from complications of a stroke he suffered in February.

Before being elected to Congress, Wilson served in the Ohio House of Representatives from 1997 to 2005. He then served two years in the Ohio Senate before winning his first congressional campaign in 2006, filling the seat vacated by Gov. Ted Strickland. Wilson had failed to gather enough petition signatures to qualify for the state's primary, requiring him to run as a write-in.

He lost bids for Congress in 2010 and 2012.