HONOLULU ? Rep. Patsy Mink, a fierce liberal who co-authored landmark gender-equity legislation and had been expected to easily defeat her GOP opponent in the November general election, died Saturday. She was 74.

The Hawaii Democrat died at Straub Clinic and Hospital, where she had been treated since Aug. 30 for viral pneumonia stemming from chickenpox, said her spokesman, Andy Winer. The disease is usually mild when it occurs in children but can lead to serious infections.

Mink had been a member of the House for 24 years during two different stretches. She won re-election two years ago by a nearly two-to-one margin, and had been considered a sure winner in this year’s race against Republican state Rep. Bob McDermott.

Her death came two days after the deadline for taking her name off the Nov. 5 ballot, and a week after she beat perennial candidate Steve Tataii in the Sept. 21 primary election.

If a primary winner dies, is not replaced on the general election ballot in time and wins, the seat is considered vacant, according to state Atty. Gen. Earl Anzai. A special election is then scheduled to fill the vacancy for the two-year term, he said.

Mink was an early opponent of the Vietnam War and accompanied fellow Rep. Bella Abzug, D-N.Y., to Paris to talk to participants in the Vietnam War peace talks.

She opposed the death penalty and had as her spending priorities education, housing and health. Mink’s strong liberal stands led conservative opponents to dub her “Patsy Pink.”

Mink believed one of her most significant accomplishments in Congress was Title IX of the Education Act, which she helped author in 1972. The law, credited by many with changing the face of women’s sports and societal attitudes about women, bans gender discrimination in schools that receive federal funding.