GOP's Julia Letlow elected to House seat initially won by late husband who died of COVID-19
Republican Julia Letlow won a special election Saturday in Louisiana's 5th Congressional District, capturing more than 50 percent of the vote, which allowed her to avoid a runoff. The seat Letlow was vying for was won by her late husband, Luke Letlow, last year, shortly before he died of complications from COVID-19 in December. He was never sworn in to Congress.
"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," Letlow said in a statement after her victory.
Elsewhere in Louisiana, Democratic state Sens. Troy Carter and Karen Carter Peterson qualified for a runoff vote on April 24 that will determine who replaces former Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.) in the state's 2nd Congressional District. Richmond is now a senior adviser to President Biden.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Carter, who has Richmond's endorsement, won 36 percent of the vote and Peterson picked up 23 percent in the safely blue district. The runoff may be hard-fought, The New York Times writes, "given the intensity and history" of the candidates' political rivalry. Read more at The New York Times and NBC News.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
The Christmas quiz 2024
From the magazine Test your grasp of current affairs and general knowledge with our quiz
By The Week UK Published
-
People of the year 2024
In the Spotlight Remember the people who hit the headlines this year?
By The Week UK Published
-
Crossword: December 25, 2024
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
California declares bird flu emergency
Speed Read The emergency came hours after the nation's first person with severe bird flu infection was hospitalized
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Bird flu one mutuation from human threat, study finds
Speed Read A Scripps Research Institute study found one genetic tweak of the virus could enable its spread among people
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Dark chocolate tied to lower diabetes risk
Speed Read The findings were based on the diets of about 192,000 US adults over 34 years
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
ACA opens 2025 enrollment, enters 2024 race
Speed Read Mike Johnson promises big changes to the Affordable Care Act if Trump wins the election
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
McDonald's sued over E. coli linked to burger
Speed Read The outbreak has sickened at least 49 people in 10 states and left one dead
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Texas dairy worker gets bird flu from infected cow
Speed Read The virus has been spreading among cattle in Texas, Kansas, Michigan and New Mexico
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Dengue hits the Americas hard and early
Speed Read Puerto Rico has declared an epidemic as dengue cases surge
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US bans final type of asbestos
Speed Read Exposure to asbestos causes about 40,000 deaths in the U.S. each year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published