Luke Letlow (41)
Luke Joshua Letlow was an American politician from the state of Louisiana. A Republican, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives for Louisiana’s 5th congressional district in 2020, but died from COVID-19 before taking office.
He worked for U.S. Representative Bobby Jindal during Jindal’s tenure in the House of Representatives as his congressional district director from 2005 to 2008 in Louisiana’s 1st congressional district, and during Jindal’s first term as governor of Louisiana as director of intergovernmental affairs from 2008 to 2010. He then worked as director of government and community affairs for QEP Resources, an energy company based in Denver.
Letlow returned to Louisiana in 2014 when he served as campaign manager for Ralph Abraham during his election for Louisiana’s 5th congressional district. He served as Abraham’s chief of staff during his three-term tenure. Following Abraham’s decision not to seek reelection in the 2020 elections, Letlow announced his candidacy on March 9, 2020. He defeated State Representative Lance Harris in a runoff election on December 5, 2020.
On December 18, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Letlow announced he had tested positive for the virus. After his condition deteriorated, Letlow was transferred to the ICU on December 23. On December 29, Letlow died of complications of COVID-19 at the age of 41.
Multiple sources have confirmed his death.