On December 18, Luke Letlow announced that he'd tested positive for COVID-19, The Hill notes. At the time, he said he was remaining at home and following CDC guidelines. Since then, however, things have apparently changed.
A spokesperson for Letlow named Andrew Bautsch has announced that Letlow has been hospitalized for his condition. According to MSN, Bautsch has also tested positive for the novel Coronavirus.
Letlow's initial diagnosis came amidst a week where several sitting members of Congress also announced they'd gotten COVID-19, including Cedric Richmond, who also represents a Louisiana district.
A Democrat, Richmond recently won re-election to the House. However, he's expected to vacate his seat soon to take up a position at the White House. Louisiana Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser, a Republican, announced he'd tested positive around the same time.
Luke Letlow has been involved in Republican Party politics for quite some time. He has done work for multiple high-profile politicians. Letlow is set to take his own place in the political spotlight.
Next year, Letlow is to take a seat in the United States House of Representatives. The seat is from the 5th Congressional District of Louisiana. But, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the path to getting to his seat has gotten even more daunting.
Hospitalized after contracting the novel coronavirus
The 5th Congressional District is made up of much of Louisiana's eastern and central regions. Luke Letlow's main competition in the District had been another Republican, State Representative Lance Harris. Harris is a former majority leader in the Louisiana House of Representatives.
Letlow prevailed over Harris in a December run-off election.
Letlow has been a Congressional staffer
While attending Louisiana Tech University, Letlow interned for U.S. Representative John Cooksey. He also chaired the Louisiana Tech College Republicans and Louisiana Federation of College Republicans. Letlow graduated from the university with a computer information systems degree.
Later, he became a staffer for U.S. Representative Bobby Jindal. After Jindal was elected governor of Louisiana, Letlow joined his gubernatorial staff. Eventually, he left to join the private sector.
In 2014, Letlow returned to politics. He served as the campaign manager for Ralph Abraham. A U.S. Army and Coast Guard veteran and medical doctor (human and animal), Abraham ran in the 5th District. Abraham won the U.S. House race in 2014 and was re-elected twice. Letlow was his chief of staff before Abraham announced he wouldn't run for re-election. Letlow is slated to replace him.
