Julia Letlow has represented Washington Parish and other Louisiana parishes in Congress for the past six years.
Beginning in January she will represent the entire state of Louisiana after winning election to the U.S. Senate on Tuesday.
It was an unexpectedly nail-biting election for Mrs. Letlow. In one of the closest Louisiana U.S. Senate elections in recent history, she narrowly defeated Democrat Jamie Davis by 25,857 votes out of more than 1.4 million total votes cast in the election. She won with a 50.5%-to-49.5% margin.
In Washington Parish, her margin was much more comfortable. She won the parish with a 60%-to-40% margin.
Letlow had 7,765 votes in Washington Parish compared to Davis’ 5,279.
Her total vote in Louisiana was 745,963, while Davis had 720,106.
Letlow’s exceedingly narrow win came as Republicans in other states suffered major losses, in what has been termed a “Blue Wave” election. Democrats won majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Sen.-elect Letlow will be officially sworn in as a U.S. Senator at the U.S. Capitol in January. She will replace Sen. Bill Cassidy, who didn’t win renomination earlier.
In nearby Mississippi, an incumbent senator was defeated.
Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, a Republican, fell to Democratic challenger Scott Colom in a major upset.
The two were almost tied, but after more than a week of ballot counting, Colom was declared the winner.
