WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Paul Gillmor from Ohio was found dead in his apartment Wednesday, a Republican leadership aide said.

The aide said the body of the 68-year-old Republican was found by staff members who went to the apartment after Gillmor failed to show up for work. There was no immediate word on the cause of his death. Gillmor’s office did not respond to a reporter’s call.

Gillmor, who represented Ohio’s 5th District in the Bowling Green area of the state, was first elected to Congress in 1988.

The aide spoke on condition of anonymity pending an official announcement.

Gillmor, who served as a judge advocate in the Air Force after graduating law school, won a seat in the Ohio state senate in 1966, and served there for 22 years, rising to the senate presidency. After an unsuccessful run for governor in 1986, Gillmor was elected to the U.S. House in 1988 after eking out a 27-vote victory in the primary.

As a House member, he was a little-known but solid Republican vote, and a reliable conservative on social issues.

He led legislative efforts in such areas as cleanups of commercially contaminated sites known as brownfields and enacting financial service reforms. He was also a strong advocate of a constitutional amendment to ban unfunded mandates on the states.

He is survived by his wife and five children.