BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) The widow of Republican U.S. Rep.-elect Luke Letlow, who died from complications related to COVID-19 before he could take office, declared Thursday that she is entering the race to fill the Louisiana congressional vacancy left by her husband’s death.
Julia Barnhill Letlow, a Republican who lives in Richland Parish, announced her campaign launch in a statement and a radio interview ahead of next week’s candidate signup period for the March 20 election for the 5th District seat representing central and northeastern Louisiana.
“Everything in my life and in my marriage has prepared me for this moment. My motivation is the passion Luke and I both shared: to better this region that we called home and to leave it a better place for our children and future generations,” she said in the statement.
The widow of Rep.-elect Luke Letlow, who died after contracting COVID-19, will run to represent the Louisiana congressional district he was just days away from being sworn-in to serve.