Romney mourns death of Obama campaign staffer on Twitter

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney took a break from a blistering campaign against President Obama to acknowledge the death of a worker on the president's reelection effort.

"Ann & I were deeply saddened to learn of the death of Alex Okrent," Romney tweeted after news of the death of the 29-year-old Obama campaign worker spread late Friday.

"Prayers are with Alex’s loved ones and the entire Obama campaign team," Romney added.

Obama campaign manager David Axelrod thanked Romney for the comments in a tweet of his own.

"Thank you, governor," Axelrod tweeted. "Alex was a beloved member of our team. It's been a very emotional day."

@MittRomney Thank you, governor. Alex was a beloved member of our team.It's been a very emotional day.

— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) July 13, 2012

Okrent, a staffer in the campaign's Chicago office, collapsed Friday and died, campaign officials said. He had worked with Obama's team since 2004.

The president called Okrent's family to express his condolences and later held a conference call with campaign staffers, the White House press office said.

In a tweet sent before Romney offered his condolences, Obama had called Okrent a "beloved member of our campaign family."

A beloved member of our campaign family, Alex Okrent, passed away today. Our prayers are with his loved ones. We will miss you, Alex. -bo

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) July 14, 2012

The civility between the rival campaigns in the midst of a heated election fight did not extend, however, to some of other Twitter users.

"Even ur publicist written tweets sound insincere and reek of bullsh--," a user tweeted Romney from the handle @Fanogone.

This story was updated at 12:55 p.m.

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