Rep.-elect Luke Letlow’s coronavirus death this week has been met with shock and grief from fellow lawmakers, offering another stark example of the lethality of a pandemic that has killed more than 340,000 Americans.
Letlow, 41, died Tuesday at a hospital in Shreveport, La., succumbing to the virus just days before he was to be sworn in Sunday after winning a runoff vote this month for Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District. The Republican was set to succeed his former boss, Rep. Ralph Abraham (R-La.), who did not run again after three terms.
Letlow, whose office announced that he had tested positive on Dec. 18, is the highest-ranking U.S. politician to die of the coronavirus. Continue reading.