CHRISTIANSTED — A former senatorial candidate and son of a St. Croix senator has died after a terminal illness, the Virgin Islands Free Press has learned.
Robert B. Moorhead, the son of former Senate President Alex Moorhead, died after a long battle with cancer, according to family and friends.
Moorhead, who was a graduate of the St. Croix Country Day School, was a longtime inspector for the Virgin Islands Casino Control Commission in Orange Grove. He also attended Mitchell College in New London, Connecticut.
Moorhead ran unsuccessfully for the Senate on St. Croix three times as a Republican, in 2016, 2018 and 2020. He was one of the five challengers in 2016 who failed to respond to a questionnaire on key territorial issues posed by the Virgin Islands Daily News. Some 15 challengers completed the survey.
The St. Croix native was active in the Republican Party, part of the reception committee that welcomed former President Donald Trump‘s Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke to the Big Island, and helped the Women’s Republic Club with events, according to dear friend Valerie Morrow-Stiles.
He was also a popular radio call-in talk show host on WSTX-AM 970.
“My condolences to the family of Robert Moorhead, a fellow Warrior and friend,” Patricia James said on Facebook.
“He was a good friend too,” Morrow-Stiles told the V.I. Free Press today. “He will be missed.”
“Robert was a staunch Republican and Virgin Islands conservative,” former Republican Party chairman John Canegata remembered. “He specifically described himself as a Frederick Douglas Republican because he saw the flaws in the modern Republican Party and chose not to stray from the core conservative values. He loved the V.I. and fought tirelessly to look out for the best interest of our islands. He was a true son of the soil. He will be terribly missed by his conservative friends and family. His support for me when I ran for the Senate, Lt. Governor and State Chairman was unfailing. He was like a relentlessly encouraging older brother. Actually he was much more than that; he was the ‘tip of the spear.’ You will be missed Robert. God bless your soul “
