Luke Letlow
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Luke Letlow | |
|---|---|
| File:Luke Letlow (cropped).jpg | |
| Born | December 6, 1979 Monroe, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Died | December 29, 2020 (aged 41) Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Cause of death | COVID-19 |
| Education | Louisiana Tech University (BS) |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse |
Julia Barnhill (m. 2013) |
| Children | 2 |
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Luke Joshua Letlow (December 6, 1979 – December 29, 2020)[1][2] was an American politician from the state of Louisiana. A Republican, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives for Louisiana's 5th congressional district in 2020 but died of COVID-19 before he could take office. Before his election to Congress, Letlow served as chief of staff to retiring Representative Ralph Abraham.
Early life and education
Letlow was raised in the rural unincorporated community of Start, east of Monroe, and was the youngest son of Dianne and Johnny Letlow. He graduated from Ouachita Christian High School and earned a Bachelor of Science in computer information systems from Louisiana Tech University in 2003.[3] As a student at Louisiana Tech, Letlow was an intern for John Cooksey in 2000 when Cooksey represented Louisiana's 5th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives.[4] He served as chairman of the Louisiana Tech College Republicans in 2001 and of the Louisiana Federation of College Republicans in 2002.[3][4][5]
Career
Letlow worked for Bobby Jindal during Jindal's tenure in the United States House of Representatives for Louisiana's 1st congressional district as his congressional district director from 2005 to 2008, and during Jindal's first term as governor of Louisiana as director of intergovernmental affairs from 2008 to 2010.[6] He then worked as director of government and community affairs for QEP Resources, an energy company based in Denver.[7][1] Letlow returned to Louisiana in 2014 to serve as campaign manager for Ralph Abraham during his election for Louisiana's 5th congressional district.[4] He served as Abraham's chief of staff during his three-term tenure.[5]
On March 9, 2020, after Abraham honored his pledge not to serve more than three terms, Letlow announced his candidacy.[8] Abraham publicly endorsed him concurrent with Letlow's announcement.[5] In the nonpartisan blanket primary on November 3, Letlow finished in first place with 33% of the vote, while State Representative Lance Harris, a fellow Republican, finished second with 17%.[9] Letlow won the December 5 runoff election with 62% of the vote.[10][11] The district is the largest in Louisiana, covering most of 24 parishes, and includes Alexandria and Monroe, the population hubs, but also represents Opelousas in Acadiana and Bogalusa, in the Florida Parishes.[8]
Succession
Per Louisiana state law, a special election will be required to elect a candidate to represent the congressional district. The district, which includes much of Eastern Louisiana, is predominantly Republican.[12]
Personal life and death
Letlow lived in Start, Louisiana, with his wife, Julia, and their two children.[5]
On December 18, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Letlow announced that he had tested positive for the virus. He was hospitalized in Monroe.[13] After his condition deteriorated, he was transferred to the intensive care unit of Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport on December 23.[14] On December 29, Letlow died of complications of COVID-19 at the age of 41, five days before he was scheduled to be sworn into office.[2][13] The hospital reported that he had no underlying conditions when admitted but died in the ICU of a heart attack after a procedure.[8]
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards ordered flags in the state to be flown at half-staff on the day of Congressman-elect Letlow's funeral.[15]
See also
References
- ^ a b Akin, Stephanie (December 5, 2020). "Luke Letlow Wins Runoff to Succeed His Boss, Ralph Abraham, in Louisiana's 5th District". Roll Call. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
... Letlow, who turns 41 on Sunday ...'
- ^ a b WDSU Digital Team (December 30, 2020). "Congressman-elect Luke Letlow dies from COVID-19". WDSU.
The following statement was issued by [Andrew] Bautsch: 'Congressman-elect Luke Letlow, 41, passed away this evening at Ochsner-LSU Health Shreveport due to complications from COVID-19.'
- ^ a b "Engagements - Luke Letlow and Julia Barnhill". The News-Star. March 24, 2013. p. 44. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
- ^ a b c Hilburn, Greg. "Luke Letlow joins congressional race with Ralph Abraham's backing". The News-Star. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
- ^ a b c d "Start resident seeks Congressional seat". Richland Beacon-News. Rayville, Louisiana. March 17, 2020. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
- ^ groberts (December 10, 2014). "Newly elected Congressman Ralph Abraham names chief of staff for U.S. House office in DC | State Politics". The Advocate. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
- ^ Hilburn, Greg (December 10, 2014). "Letlow named Abraham's chief of staff". The News-Star. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
- ^ a b c Hilburn, Greg (December 29, 2020). "Louisiana Congressman-elect Luke Letlow dies with COVID-19". The News-Star. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Hilburn, Greg (November 3, 2020). "Luke Letlow, Lance Harris emerge in all-Republican runoff for 5th Congressional District". Monroe News-Star. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
- ^ "Louisiana election results: Letlow, Harris in GOP runoff for Congress". Houma Todaym. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
- ^ Hilburn, Greg (December 5, 2020). "Luke Letlow wins Louisiana's 5th Congressional District race". The News-Star. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
- ^ Acosta, Jim; Gangel, Jamie; LeBlanc, Paul (December 29, 2020). "Congressman-elect Luke Letlow dies after battling Covid-19". CNN. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
- ^ a b Zanona, Melanie (December 29, 2020). "Louisiana congressman-elect dies of Covid". Politico. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
- ^ "Letlow transferred to ICU for COVID-19 treatment". Associated Press. December 23, 2020. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
- ^ WAFB, Staff (December 29, 2020). "Louisiana Congressman-elect Luke Letlow dies after being hospitalized with coronavirus". WAFB News. Retrieved December 30, 2020.