LETLOW WINS VOTE FOR LATE HUSBAND’S SEAT
She becomes first GOP woman from La. elected to House
Republican Julia Letlow easily won a Saturday special election for the northeast Louisiana-based U.S. House seat that her husband, Luke, couldn’t fill because of his death from complications related to COVID-19.
With the victory, Julia Letlow becomes the third woman ever elected to the House from Louisiana, the first Republican woman elected to Congress from the state and the only woman among its current congressional delegation.
She trounced 11 other contenders to capture the 5th District seat in the primary.
“This is an incredible moment, and it is truly hard to put into words. What was
born out of the terrible tragedy of losing my husband, Luke, has become my mission in his honor to carry the torch and serve the good people of Louisiana’s 5th District,” Julia Letlow said in a statement.
Farther south, the race to fill a second vacant congressional seat for Louisiana was headed to an April 24 runoff,
but the seat was certain to stay in Democratic hands.
Two Democratic state senators from New Orleans — Troy Carter and Karen Carter Peterson — secured spots in the runoff after leading the field among 15 candidates. The New Orleansbased 2nd District seat is open because Democrat Cedric Richmond took a job as a special adviser to President Joe Biden.
In Louisiana, all candidates regardless of party compete against each other in the primary. If no candidate tops 50 percent of the vote, a runoff election is held between the top two votegetters.
Julia Letlow, 40, ran in her deep red district with the backing of former President Donald Trump, the endorsement of the state GOP and more money raised than all her competitors combined. It was the first bid for elected office by the higher education administrator who lives in the small town of Start in Richland Parish.
Luke Letlow, 41, died Dec. 29, only days before he was scheduled to be sworn into office. His wife announced her candidacy in January, a move that sidelined other Republicans who had expressed interest in the seat.