Julia Letlow, a sitting U.S. representative, beat Democrat Jamie Davis in a close race for the seat left open when Sen. Bill Cassidy lost his own party’s primary.
Julia Letlow is Louisiana’s new senator, and the first Republican woman the state has ever elected to the U.S. Senate.
Letlow worked in higher education for years, holding senior roles at the University of Louisiana at Monroe. She entered politics in hard circumstances: her husband, Luke Letlow, won a U.S. House seat in 2020 but died of COVID-19 before he could take office. She ran for the seat herself and won the special election in March 2021. She has represented northeast Louisiana in the House since then.
This year she set her sights higher. With President Donald Trump’s backing, she challenged sitting Sen. Bill Cassidy in the Republican primary. Cassidy, who had voted to convict Trump at his second impeachment trial, finished third and was knocked out. Letlow then won a runoff against State Treasurer John Fleming.
In November she faced Democrat Jamie Davis, a Tensas Parish farmer. The race was far tighter than expected, and Letlow won with about 51 percent of the vote. The Associated Press declared her the winner at 12:31 a.m. EST.
Her win matters because it shows the price a Republican can pay for crossing Trump, and it keeps the seat in Republican hands.
What to watch: how Letlow builds a Senate profile after one of the most personal paths into Congress in recent memory.
Fast facts
- Age: 45
- Party: Republican
- Office: U.S. Senator
- State: Louisiana
- Previous job: U.S. representative from Louisiana (since 2021)
- Called by AP: 12:31 a.m. EST, Nov. 4, 2026
Part of the Zark News Election 2026 winners profile series. Winners are listed as called by the Associated Press.
