WASHINGTON – Republican Julia Letlow won a special election on Saturday in Louisiana, NBC News projected.
Voters in the state are filling two vacant seats in the House in the first special parliamentary elections of the year.
Letlow ran to replace her late husband, Luke, who was first elected to the chair in November but died of complications from Covid-19 in December.
Endorsed by former President Donald Trump, Letlow was the favorite to win Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District, which was strongly Republican, but managed to avoid a runoff by exceeding the 50 percent limit.
Trump, through his PAC, released a statement on Saturday afternoon urging voters to attend Letlow, saying “she will never disappoint” and “it is excellent and much needed to help save our Second Amendment, on the border and for our military and veterinary. “
The other race, in the majority Black of the 2nd Congress of the District of Louisiana, that extends from New Orleans to Baton Rouge, should reach a second round.
The contest may offer clues about the climate within the Democratic Party, especially among black Democrats after a few months of President Joe Biden’s term.
Fifteen candidates are running to replace former deputy Cedric Richmond, a Democrat who left Congress in January to take a senior position in the Biden White House, so none should exceed the 50 percent threshold needed in the first round to avoid the second round. next month’s shift.
Richmond and other Democratic Party mediators are supporting moderate state senator Troy Carter, but he is facing stiff competition from state senator Karen Carter Peterson, who is running as a progressive.
Carter Peterson, who until last year was president of the Louisiana Democratic Party, was endorsed by the women’s group Emily’s List, former Georgia presidential candidate Stacey Abrams and Our Revolution, which resulted from Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign.
Carter and Carter Peterson – who are not related – raised about half a million dollars for the race in late February, according to campaign funding reports, while activist Gary Chambers raised more than $ 300,000, with the rest of field far behind.
The district is more than two-thirds black and heavily democratic, with Richmond winning reelection last year by almost 50 percentage points over its closest Republican rival.
The next special congressional election is scheduled to take place on June 1 in a safe Democratic district in New Mexico, where candidates are competing to replace former MP Debra Haaland, who on Monday was confirmed as secretary of the interior.
