Republican · Louisiana Senate · 2026
Julia Letlow
Letlow was a professor and university administrator before a family tragedy changed her plans.
Biography
Julia Letlow's husband, Luke, won a House election in 2020 but died of COVID before he could take office.1 They had two children, Jeremiah and Jacqueline.2 In December 2025, she announced her engagement to Kevin Ainsworth.3 Raised in Monroe, she built a career in higher education before entering politics herself.2
Letlow earned bachelor's and master's degrees in speech communication at the University of Louisiana Monroe and a doctorate in communication at the University of South Florida.1 Her university work included education and resident patient safety at Tulane's medical school, along with marketing, external affairs and strategic communications at ULM.1 She also worked on ULM's strategic plan as an ombudsperson and special projects coordinator.1
She won the 2021 special election for the seat Luke had won and now serves on the House Appropriations Committee.45 She introduced the 2023 Parents Bill of Rights Act, proposing greater parental access to school curricula and budget information.6 It passed the House but did not become law.6
Her Senate agenda includes completing the border wall, expanding school choice and making the federal income tax breaks for tips and overtime permanent.7 She voted for the 2025 Republican tax and spending law and is running with President Trump's endorsement.82 Her Democratic opponent is farmer Jamie Davis, with both seeking to succeed Senator Bill Cassidy.5
Record and controversies
Late trading disclosures and disputed investigation claim
Letlow acknowledged in an April interview that investment transaction reports had been filed late, saying she corrected them after learning of the problem.9 She denied insider trading and said an outside adviser controlled the portfolio without her direction.9 In June, a judge temporarily restricted a John Fleming advertisement claiming an ethics investigation into her trades, pending a hearing on its accuracy.10 Letlow called the advertisement false, while Fleming accused her of using litigation to silence his campaign.10 That account describes an interim order, not a final ruling on every allegation; delayed disclosure is not proof of trading on inside information.10
Meta agreement and subsequent stock trades
Gulf States Newsroom reported that Letlow signed a confidentiality agreement in 2024 with Meta’s data center subsidiary, then bought Meta and Nvidia shares before the project was publicly announced.11 Ethics specialists questioned that sequence while cautioning that the timeline alone could not establish her motives.11 Her spokesman said confidentiality agreements are routine in economic development, that she did not direct the trades, and that the agreement played no part because she was unaware of the transactions.11 These are documented transactions and ethical questions, rather than a reported finding that she committed insider trading.11