Former President Donald Trump on March 10 endorsed Julia Letlow, the widow of Rep.-elect Luke Letlow (R-La.), in her campaign for his House seat to represent Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District.
The special election will take place on March 20.
“Julia Letlow, a wonderful and talented person who is the widow of U.S. Representative-elect Luke Letlow, is running for Congress in Louisiana-5 at the urging of so many people who know her so very well,” Trump wrote in a statement released by the Save America political action committee (PAC).
“She is Pro-Life and strong on Crime, the Border, loves our Military, our Vets, and will always protect our cherished Second Amendment. Julia, who is so outstanding, has my Complete and Total Endorsement. The Great State of Louisiana will be thrilled!”
Luke Letlow, 41, died in December 2020—just days before he was to be sworn into office—from a heart attack that was “likely related to thromboembolic phenomena caused by COVID-19,” the doctor in charge of the hospital where he was being treated confirmed in an email.
“It’s truly an honor to receive President Trump’s endorsement and I look forward to joining in the fight to save our country by putting America first!” Julia Letlow wrote on Twitter after Trump’s endorsement.
“I hear him very clearly in my head saying he would be so proud of me as I move forward,” Letlow told “Fox & Friends” on Jan. 22.
Letlow said she and her husband were a team and “in lockstep with each other” for eight years. She recounted how he would always share with her what unfolded over each day when returning home, and added that both she and her husband had a heart for public service.
“I knew, and he always encouraged me if the opportunity ever arose for me to serve, that I would take that opportunity,” she said. Among those who encouraged her were former Rep. Ralph Abraham (R-La.), on whose staff Luke Letlow served, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
Luke Letlow had won a runoff election for the seat representing the 5th Congressional District. Julia Letlow announced in January that she would run for the seat.
“I am running to continue the mission Luke started—to stand up for our Christian values, to fight for our rural agricultural communities, and to deliver real results to move our state forward,” she said in a statement at the time.
