Longtime Tennessee politician Roy Herron died Sunday at 69 years old. The former chairman of the state’s Democratic Party had been hospitalized since July 1, when he was involved in a jet ski accident that left him with internal bleeding and major injuries to his arm and pelvis. “Roy loved his family with all his might,” Herron’s wife, Rev. Nancy Carol Miller-Herron, said in a statement. “He passed doing what he loved most—spending time with our sons and their friends in the Tennessee outdoors where his spirit was always most free.” Herron was a state senator for Tennessee’s 24th district for 16 years, and the representative for the 76th district for the 10 years prior. Former Vice President Al Gore shared his condolences for Herron on Twitter Sunday, calling him “a dear friend and one of Tennessee’s most devoted citizens.”