Julia Letlow, widow of Republican U.S. Rep.-elect Luke Letlow, speaks to members of the press at the Louisiana State Archives after signing up to run for the 5th District seat on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021, in Baton Rouge, La. Luke Letlow won a December election for the congressional seat but died of COVID-19 complications in December, before he could be sworn into office. (AP Photo/Brett Duke)
Julia Letlow, widow of Republican U.S. Rep.-elect Luke Letlow, speaks to members of the press at the Louisiana State Archives after signing up to run for the 5th District seat on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021, in Baton Rouge, La. Luke Letlow won a December election for the congressional seat but died of COVID-19 complications in December, before he could be sworn into office. (AP Photo/Brett Duke)
Louisiana will hold two special elections on Saturday to fill open congressional seats.
One district was held by Democrats and the other by Republicans, and both are considered safe for their respective parties.
The contest in the 2nd Congressional District is to replace Democrat Cedric Richmond, who now works in the Biden administration, while in the 5th district, candidates will vie to replace Republican Rep.-elect Luke Letlow, who died of complications from COVID-19 days before he would have been sworn into office.
In Louisiana, all candidates for a seat compete in the same primary. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, the top two vote-getters move on to a runoff. If needed, runoffs for these congressional districts would be held April 24.
In the 5th district, Letlow’s widow, Julia Letlow, is considered the favorite, while the 2nd district race is considered more likely to head to a runoff.
Democrats hold a slim majority in the House, with 219 Democrats to 211 Republicans. There are currently five vacancies. A runoff in Louisiana’s 2nd district, for instance, would likely temporarily shrink House Democrats’ margin.
Richmond has endorsed state Sen. Troy Carter to fill his old seat, while other Democrats have backed state Sen. Karen Peterson.
The death of the 41-year-old Letlow came amid a spate of confirmed and suspected cases of the coronavirus among Capitol Hill’s ranks, including the February death of Texas Republican Rep. Ron Wright.
A special election to fill Wright’s Texas seat is planned for May 1.
A collection of interviews, photos, and music videos, featuring local musicians who have stopped by the WITF performance studio to share a little discussion and sound. Produced by WITF’s Joe Ulrich.
