Julia Letlow made history on Tuesday night becoming Louisiana’s first Republican woman elected to the U.S. Senate. But her victory over Democrat Jamie Davis was much closer than many expected.
Letlow will leave her seat in the U.S. House to replace Bill Cassidy in the Senate. In her victory speech, she thanked supporters and reflected on the responsibility of representing Louisiana.
“Mom said, Julia just go up to D.C. and be a light and be a light where there is so much darkness and we need light more than ever in this country today and I promise you that, that will always be my hope and my prayer,” Letlow said.
Letlow won by roughly 25-thousand votes, a surprisingly narrow margin considering she was widely expected to win comfortably after emerging from the May primaries.
Her victory also came on a difficult election night for Republicans nationally, as Democrats regained control of the U.S. Senate and made significant gains in the House.
Letlow was first elected to Congress in 2021, following the death of her husband, Luke Letlow, who died from complications of COVID-19 just days before he was scheduled to be sworn in as Louisiana’s Fifth District representative.
Julia Letlow says her decision to enter politics was driven by her young children.
“They are why I wake up everyday with that fire in my belly to go fight for this country and y’all after tonight’s results we are going to have to fight, and we are going to fight, but not without hope,” Letlow said.
Davis came much closer to winning than many anticipated. A farmer from Tensas Parish, he built a grassroots campaign that gained momentum as President Trump’s approval ratings declined. Davis says his fight for Louisiana residents isn’t over.
“Safe drinking water, clean air to breathe, good schools for all of our children regardless of zip code, and of course we all want good health care in our communities, that’s not too much to ask,” Davis said.
Davis closed his concession speech with a warning to Governor Jeff Landry, saying the governor has been put on notice. His comments suggested Davis could be considering a run for governor next year.
