GOP's Julia Letlow elected to House seat initially won by late husband who died of COVID-19

Julia Letlow.
(Image credit: AP Photo/Brett Duke, File)

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.

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Tim O'Donnell

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.