Juila Letlow, the widow of Rep.-elect Luke Letlow, will take her late husband’s place in Congress after winning a special election on Saturday.
Letlow, 40, launched a bid for Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District seat after her husband died from COVID-19 on Dec. 29, 2020, at the age of 41 before being sworn in, deterring other big-name Republicans from jumping into the race.
She was the best-funded of a dozen candidates in a “jungle primary” for the safe Republican seat, and because she received more than 50% of the vote, she avoided having to compete in a runoff election.
When news outlets projected Letlow to be the winner late Saturday, Democrat Candy Christophe was in a distant second place, and all the other candidates each had less than 10% of the vote.
JULIA LETLOW WROTE HER DISSERTATION ON GRIEF. NOW SHE’S RUNNING FOR HER LATE HUSBAND’S HOUSE SEAT
Letlow, who has a Ph.D. in communication from the University of South Florida and a background as an administrator at the University of Louisiana Monroe, is no stranger to grief.
After her 17-year-old brother died in a car crash when she was a junior in college, she wrote her dissertation on losing a family member and finding meaning after loss.
Before his death, her husband had also encouraged her to run for office if an opportunity ever arose, Letlow said.
“I never imagined it would be on this scale, this soon,” Letlow told the Washington Examiner in an interview on Friday. “I thought I would start out somewhere smaller.”
She was the best-funded candidate in the race and received endorsements from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy; Republican House Whip Steve Scalise, also a member of the Louisiana delegation; and former President Donald Trump.
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Letlow has a 1-year-old daughter and a 3-year-old son.
“I can’t think of any better example to set for my children than to serve others,” Letlow said. “When you face trials and tribulations and loss in your life, which we all will if we live long enough, that you can either give up or you can keep going.”
