Joe Shumate, political consultant was 69

Shumate, a former deputy chief of staff to Gov. Pete Wilson, was advising both Carly Fiorina and Steve Cooley in this year's election cycle. He lived in Sausalito but died in Sacramento. He ran or had a guiding hand in a lot of winning Republican campaigns, but Shumate is "best known for his role as a member of a three-person team of American political consultants who directed Russian President Boris Yeltsin's re-election campaign in 1996," says the San Francisco Chronicle's Carla Marinucci

Tweeted: Meg Whitman consultant Mike Murphy says, "Great consultant. Long time friend and mentor. Huge loss. So sad."