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Julia Letlow

Julia Janelle Letlow (née Barnhill; born March 16, 1981) is an American politician and academic administrator. She is the United States representative of Louisiana's 5th congressional district since April 14, 2021.[2] Letlow is the first Republican woman to represent Louisiana in the House.[3] She is currently running for the U.S. Senate in the 2026 election.[4]

Julia Letlow
Julia Letlow 117th (cropped).jpg
Official portrait, 2021
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Louisiana's 5th district
Assumed office
April 14, 2021
Preceded byRalph Abraham[a]
Personal details
Born
Julia Janelle Barnhill

16 March 1981 (aged 45)
Monroe, Louisiana, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 2013; died 2029)​
Domestic partnerKevin Ainsworth (engaged since 2025)
Children2
EducationUniversity of Louisiana, Monroe (BA, MA)
University of South Florida (PhD)
WebsiteHouse website
Campaign website

Letlow's husband, Luke Letlow, was elected to the United States House of Representatives for Louisiana's 5th congressional district in the 2020 elections, but died from COVID-19 before taking office.[5]

Early life

Letlow was born Julia Janelle Barnhill on March 16, 1981, in Monroe, Louisiana. She graduated from Ouachita Christian High School.[6] She earned her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in speech communications from the University of Louisiana at Monroe, followed by a Doctor of Philosophy in communications from the University of South Florida in 2012.[7]

Academic career

Letlow worked as director of education and patient safety for Tulane University School of Medicine.[8] In 2018, she was named director of external affairs and strategic communications for the University of Louisiana at Monroe (ULM).[9] In 2020, she was a possible candidate to become president of ULM.[10][11]

U.S. House of Representatives

Letlow's husband, Luke Letlow, was elected to the United States House of Representatives for Louisiana's 5th congressional district in the 2020 elections, but died from COVID-19 in December 2020, before taking office.[12] Julia decided to run in the special election for the empty seat in January 2021.[13] On March 20, she received over 64% of the vote in the nonpartisan blanket primary, winning the election and avoiding a runoff.[14] Letlow is the first Republican woman elected to Congress from Louisiana.[15][16] She was sworn in on April 14, 2021.

On January 3, 2025, Letlow voted for Mike Johnson for Speaker of the House in the 119th Congress.[17]

Letlow won re-election in 2022, winning 67% of the vote.[18] She won re-election in Louisiana's November 5, 2024, primary with 62.9% of the vote.[19]

2026 U.S. Senate campaign

In January 2026, Letlow announced that she would run for the U.S. Senate in 2026, challenging Republican incumbent Bill Cassidy.[4]

Personal life

Letlow met Luke Letlow in high school, and years later, they married in 2013.[20] They had two children together before his death in 2020.[21] In 2025, Letlow announced her engagement to Kevin Ainsworth, a lawyer and lobbyist from Baton Rouge.[22]

Letlow is a Presbyterian.[23]

Julia Letlow Media

Notes

  1. ↑ Letlow's husband, Luke Letlow, was elected to succeed retiring Abraham but died before taking office on December 29, 2020.[1]

References

  1. ↑ Deslatte, Melinda. Louisiana Congressman-elect Luke Letlow dies from COVID-19. Associated Press (December 30, 2020). Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  2. ↑ Seitz-Wald, Alex. Republican Julia Letlow wins special congressional election in Louisiana, NBC News projects (in en). NBC News (20 March 2021). Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  3. ↑ Adam Levy and Ethan Cohen. Julia Letlow makes history in Louisiana's 5th District special election while 2nd District goes to runoff. CNN (March 21, 2021). Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Howard, Andrew; Doherty, Erin; Lee Hill, Meredith (January 20, 2026). "Letlow launches Trump-backed Senate bid against Cassidy" (in en). Politico. https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/20/letlow-senate-cassidy-trump-00736200. Retrieved January 20, 2026. 
  5. ↑ Luke Letlow's family talks about the congressman-elect's COVID death. The News-Star. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  6. ↑ Bridges, Tyler (March 15, 2021). "Julia Letlow, picking up torch from her late husband, is favored to win congressional race". The Advocate (Georges Media). https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/politics/elections/article_1258edb4-835a-11eb-b49e-6f9ad1468678.html. Retrieved March 19, 2021. 
  7. ↑ Barnhill, Julia Janelle (2011) (in English). Giving Meaning to Grief: the Role of Rituals and Stories in Coping with Sudden Family Loss. University of South Florida. OCLC 778367257 . https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/2996/. 
  8. ↑ Barnhill – Letlow. Monroe, Louisiana. March 24, 2013. p. 44. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/51308325/barnhill-letlow/. Retrieved March 21, 2021. 
  9. ↑ Letlow named director of external affairs and strategic communications at ULM. The News-Star. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  10. ↑ Seven candidates in the running for ULM president. The News-Star. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Seven semifinalists set in University of Louisiana Monroe search". Associated Press. May 18, 2020. https://apnews.com/36eeede7edcf8ee74a8008f8a98e4830. Retrieved November 2, 2025. 
  12. ↑ Luke Letlow's family talks about the congressman-elect's COVID death. The News-Star. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  13. ↑ Julia Letlow, widow of U.S. Rep-elect Luke Letlow, to run for Congress. The News-Star (December 30, 2020). Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  14. ↑ Seitz-Wald, Alex. Republican Julia Letlow wins special congressional election in Louisiana, NBC News projects (in en). NBC News (March 20, 2021). Retrieved March 21, 2021.
  15. ↑ U. S. Representative – 5th Congressional District (March 20, 2021)Louisiana Secretary of State.
  16. ↑ Louisiana Primary Election Results 2021. New York Times (March 20, 2021).
  17. ↑ Roll Call 2 — Election of the Speaker, January 3, 2025. Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved November 2, 2025.
  18. ↑ Louisiana Fifth Congressional District Election Results. The New York Times (November 8, 2022). Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  19. ↑ Louisiana's 5th Congressional District election, 2024. Ballotpedia. Retrieved November 2, 2025.
  20. ↑ Family obituary for Louisiana Congressman-elect Luke Letlow, who died from COVID complications (in en-US). The News-Star. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  21. ↑ Sentell, Will. Luke Letlow's widow, Julia, files for his U.S. House seat after his death from coronavirus (in en). The Advocate (January 21, 2021). Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  22. ↑ https://www.nola.com/news/politics/julia-letlow-engaged-white-house/article_11f9826f-48eb-429e-8c24-f21e3a62202e.html
  23. ↑ Religious affiliation of members of 118th Congress (December 2022)PEW Research Center. Retrieved March 1, 2023.

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