Newly-Elected US Lawmaker, Luke Letlow Due To Be Sworn In On Sunday Dies from Coronavirus

41-year-old Republican Luke Letlow who was elected as Representative for Louisiana's 5th district and was due to be sworn in on Sunday December 2, has died from Coronavirus complications.  

Letlow who was elected to represent Louisiana's 5th District in Congress as the state's youngest U.S. representative, died at Ochsner-LSU Health Shreveport from “complications from COVID-19,” his spokesman, Andrew Bautsch said in a statement. 

The lawmaker was admitted to a Monroe hospital with COVID-19 symptoms on December 19th before being transferred to the Shreveport hospital and moving to the intensive care unit on December 23rd. 

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards ordered flags to be flown at half-mast on the day of Letlow's funeral. 

Edwards tweeted;  

It is with heavy hearts that @FirstLadyOfLA  and I offer our condolences to Congressman-elect Luke Letlow’s family on his passing after a battle with COVID-19

Congressman-elect Letlow felt a calling from a young age to serve the people of his home state, working behind the scenes for former Governor Bobby Jindal and serving as chief of staff to Congressman Ralph Abraham, who he was recently elected to succeed.

COVID-19 has taken Congressman-elect Letlow from us far too soon. I am heartbroken that he will not be able to serve our people as a U.S. Representative, but I am even more devastated for his loving family.

I hope all of the people of Louisiana will join Donna and me in praying for Congressman-elect Letlow’s family, especially his wife Julia and their two children, his many friends, and the people of the 5th Congressional District.

Louisiana has lost more than 7,300 people to COVID-19 since March, and each one of them leaves a tremendous hole in our state.

I have ordered flags to be flown at half-staff on the day of Congressman-elect Letlow’s funeral.
 

Letlow is survived by his wife, Julie Barnhill Letlow and two young children.  The congressman-elect of Start, a small rural community east of Monroe, beat out Alexandria state Rep. Lance Harris, also a Republican, in a runoff election to succeed Abraham on Dec. 5th.  

He was well-known among Louisiana political and government officials, having previously worked for Bobby Jindal when Jindal was in Congress and later in the governor's office. He arrived in Abraham's office in 2014 after a stint working for a Denver energy company in governmental relations.