Luke Letlow: Louisiana congressman-elect dies from COVID-19 at 41 ntnews.com.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from ntnews.com.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Congressman-elect dies from COVID-19
MELINDA DESLATTE | Associated Press
BATON ROUGE, La. – Luke Letlow, Louisiana s incoming Republican member of the U.S. House, died Tuesday night from complications related to COVID-19 only days before being sworn into office. He was 41.
Letlow spokesman Andrew Bautsch confirmed the congressman-elect s death at Ochsner-LSU Health Shreveport.
“The family appreciates the numerous prayers and support over the past days but asks for privacy during this difficult and unexpected time,” Bautsch said in a statement. “A statement from the family along with funeral arrangements will be announced at a later time.”
Louisiana s eight-member congressional delegation called Letlow s death devastating.
Who was Luke Letlow?
Born in Start, west of Monroe, Luke Joshua Letlow was raised by Dianne and Johnny Letlow. The youngest son in the family dubbed as âa ninth-generation Louisianianâ graduated from Ouachita Christian High School and then studied at Louisiana Tech University in 2003 to earn a Bachelor of Science degree. Interestingly, he has worked as an intern for John Cooksey in 2000 when Cooksey represented Louisiana s 5th congressional district and worked for US Representative Bobby Jindal during Jindal s tenure from 2005 to 2008.
Letlow served as chairman of the Louisiana Tech College Republicans in 2001 and as the State Chairman of the Louisiana Federation of College Republicans in 2002. He served as campaign manager for Ralph Abraham and soon became his chief of staff during his three-term tenure. Recently, in a run-off election on December 5, 2020, he defeated State Representative Lance Harris.