Letlow heads to the US Senate, among few Trump-backed candidates to survive midterm election

MONROE, La. (WVUE) - Louisiana Rep. Julie Letlow prepares to take on a new role on Capitol Hill, after narrowly defeating Democrat Jamie Davis to win a US Senate seat on Tuesday (Nov. 3).

The Republican congresswoman, endorsed since the primary by President Trump, edged Davis by a margin of 50.88-49.12 percent.

Trump threw his weight behind Letlow to knock off incumbent Bill Cassidy in the Louisiana Republican primary. In a surprisingly close race with Davis, Letlow fared better than other Trump-backed Senate candidates around the country.

Letlow won a special election to become the 5th District representative in 2021. She was elected after her husband Luke Letlow died of COVID-19 in December 2020, five days before he was to be sworn into the U.S. House of Representatives.

During Tuesday’s midterms, Trump-backed candidates in South Carolina, North Carolina, Texas and Michigan lost their races.

Letlow is the first Republican woman to be elected to the Senate from Louisiana. But she will work in what will be a Democrat-led chamber, as the party clinched at least 54 seats with two races still to be called. Democrats also won control of the House.

“I think the entire nation is surprised by the margins,” Letlow said after her election night victory. “There’s going to be a lot of conversation that we need to have as a party, and how we can find unity again and start rebuilding. But I’m always going to approach everything that I do with hope and optimism.”

Fox 8 political analyst Mike Sherman said Letlow’s slim margin of victory had to feel “too close for comfort , I’m sure, for much of the night.”

Letlow relied heavily on Trump’s endorsement and declined several invitations to debate Davis.

“But it was a strategy that worked, because Louisiana is so deeply red and so deeply conservative,” Sherman said.

Letlow raised $7 million during the campaign, to $5 million for Davis.

Letlow said she will represent everyone in Louisiana, not just those who supported her. She takes office in January.

See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Click Here to report it. Please include the headline.

Subscribe to the Fox 8 YouTube channel.