AP
Republican Luke Letlow was elected as Representative for Louisiana s 5th district and was due to be sworn in on Monday (NZT). Letlow announced that he had tested positive for the novel coronavirus on December 18, the
Monroe News-Star reported, and initially quarantined at his home in Richland Parish in northeastern Louisiana. By the next day, he was admitted to the hospital with worsening symptoms and later transferred to Ochsner LSU Health in Shreveport. He s survived by two young children and his wife, Julia Barnhill Letlow, the
News-Star reported. State and national political leaders mourned his death on Tuesday night. Covid-19 has taken Congressman-elect Letlow from us far too soon, said Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, in a statement shared on Twitter.
Provided by Scott Franklin
The 41-year-old Republican was otherwise healthy and set to be inaugurated next month.
Friends say Letlow was beyond partisan politics and was a champion for rural American communities like the one he grew up in.
Luke Letlow, a Republican from one of the poorest districts in the US, launched his campaign for Congress on the day the first COVID-19 case was reported in Louisiana.
He ran to replace Rep. Ralph Abraham, his former boss and good friend, in the middle of a pandemic when fundraising events and meet-and-greets were a challenge.
He also had to campaign without access to high-speed internet at his home in rural Richland Parish.
Congressman-Elect Luke Letlow Hospitalized After COVID-19 Diagnosis
Republican congressman-elect Luke Letlow was admitted to the hospital on Dec. 19 after testing positive for COVID-19.
Andrew Bautsch, a spokesman for Letlow who is also infected with the new disease, told the Monroe News Star that Letlow was hospitalized “as a precaution and under the commendation of his doctors.”
Letlow won the seat representing Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District with 62 percent of the vote on Dec. 5. He faced state Rep. Lance Harris, a Republican, in a runoff. The seat was vacated by Rep. Ralph Abraham, a Republican who retired.
Letlow announced Dec. 18 that he tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.
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