HARRISBURG — The late state Sen. James J. Rhoades could get elected to an eighth term, since Republican Party officials say his name will stay on the ballot in the three-way race for his northeastern Pennsylvania seat.

Rhoades, 66, died Saturday from injuries he suffered in a car accident the night before, a little more than two weeks before the Nov. 4 election.

"The Republican Party is in full agreement that he should be on the ballot," Champ Holman, Rhoades' chief of staff and campaign chairman, said Monday.

The Schuylkill County Republican and Senate Education Committee chairman had served in the state Senate since 1981, and Holman said some voters have already mailed in absentee ballots bearing his name.

Todd Nyquist, a spokesman for the Senate Republican Campaign Committee, confirmed party officials will not seek to replace Rhoades on the ballot that also includes Democrat P.J. Symons and independent Dennis Baylor.

Should Rhoades win despite his death, a special election would be held to pick a successor to fill out the remainder of the four-year term, said Pennsylvania Department of State spokeswoman Leslie Amoros.

A special election cannot be held less than 60 days after one is ordered by the Senate's presiding officer, giving the parties another two months to pick a candidate and wage a campaign.