With roughly two weeks to go before filing for the March primary to fill the seat of the late Republican Rep.-elect Luke Letlow in Louisiana’s 5th District, signs are growing strong that his widow Julie Letlow will make the race.
“All indications are that Julie will run and be an almost certain victor,” a Pelican State Republican who knows the Shreveport-based district well told Newsmax.
The same source admitted “I’m a little concerned about her running with two very young children but in lieu of the circumstances, perhaps this is one such occasion where it makes more sense.”
He meant that the outpouring of sympathy for the Letlow family would almost surely clear the field and guarantee her election in an historically Republican district.
Soon after winning the seat last year of his old boss Republican Rep. Ralph Abraham, Luke Letlow contracted COVID-19. On Dec. 29, four days before he was to be sworn into office, Letlow died of complications from the virus at age 41.
Julie Barnhill Letlow, also 41, is considered a strong conservative in the mold of her late husband. A Ph.D, she served as executive assistant to the president of the University of Louisiana at Monroe and was herself a finalist for the university presidency.
Writing of his wife on Facebook, Letlow said “Anyone who truly knows my wife knows that her determination is a force to be reckoned with, her vision is inspiring, and her passion is contagious.”
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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