Julia Letlow, the Republican representative of Louisiana, has recently launched her campaign for the U.S. Senate following U.S. President Donald Trump’ s endorsement over his social media platform, Truth Social.
Letlow initially gained her position in the House of Representatives during April of 2021 by taking her husband’s seat following his death. Luke Letlow died days before he was supposed to take office.
When in office, Letlow would often vote on bills and make political statements under a conservative lens.
In 2021, under the Biden administration, Letlow made her concerns with the border known, expressing outrage over the release of immigration detainees. Then, in 2023, Letlow opposed the bill which would allow federally funded abortion travel, citing her Christian values.
This year, she fully supported military involvement in Venezuela by opposing a bill that would remove armed forces from the country, while also making statements praising Trump’s military action in Venezuela.
Donovan Hudson, a student at Loyola, is concerned with Letlow’s past and future actions.
“I feel like she’s taking things in the wrong direction and she should not be added to the Senate anytime soon,” Hudson said.
This conservative approach to office has only been amplified by Trump’s endorsement and her newly launched campaign website.
Trump, being a conservative Republican himself, made his approval of Letlow known in his endorsement.
“As your next Senator, Julia will work tirelessly to Grow our Economy, Cut Taxes and Regulations, Support our Amazing Farmers and Fishermen, Champion Louisiana Oil & Gas, Unleash American Energy DOMINANCE, Promote MADE IN THE U.S.A., Keep our Border SECURE, Stop Migrant Crime, Ensure LAW AND ORDER, Strengthen our Military/Veterans, and Protect our always under siege Second Amendment,” Trump posted.
Trump’s endorsement of Letlow upset Loyola student Luke Lutz, who said, “ It’s just a shame that the people that are so high up and are being endorsed by the president are exhibiting this behavior of closemindedness, and aren’t aware of it.”
Trump’s unwavering confidence in Letlow proved to be successful, considering she began her campaign for the U.S. Senate three days after his endorsement, challenging current Louisiana senator Bill Casidy for his seat.
Letlow’s campaign is centered around “conservative leadership.” Her hard-right approach is impossible to miss with her website being composed of conservative ideals, which have become increasingly prevalent in legislation due to the Trump administration’s preference for hardline conservatives.
Letlow’s campaign website echoes the manner of her actions in congress. The issues section of her website makes this evident with the very first issue stating, “100% Pro-Life: Julia has been a devout Christian her entire life and will always fight for the unborn.”
Loyola student Gerardo Sanatana is concerned with Letlow’s use of Christianity within her campaign.
“I don’t like her use of the Christian approach because I personally am a Christian, but I feel like people don’t know how to separate church and state sometimes. You’re forcing your opinions on other people through the law. That’s not what Christianity is about,” he said.
Letlow shares more of her views for the future of a conservative Louisiana in her campaign video, in which she says she wants to transition from an education system focused on “woke ideology” rather than teaching. Letlow says she is “… fighting to fix an education system too focused on woke ideology instead of teaching … Louisiana deserves conservative champions, leaders who will not flinch.”
As someone who has completed their K-12 education in Louisiana, Lutz feels that Letlow’s approach is, “a gross misunderstanding of what Louisiana needs. We’re still 46th in education but I feel like limiting the access to students for certain classes, or topics to talk about is just going to further recess us.”
