Letlow, Harris compete for congressional seat

Letlow%2C+Harris+compete+for+congressional+seat

The presidential election is not the only election that took a long time to call this year. The congressional race for the 5th district in Louisiana still has not reached the finish line.

Out of the nine candidates, two of them are now facing a runoff for the U.S. representative position. The candidates are the former chief of staff for Rep. Ralph Abraham, Luke Letlow, and Louisiana State Representative and businessman, Lance Harris.

With Abraham retiring after three consecutive terms as the U.S. Representative for Louisiana’s 5th congressional district, his position is up for grabs.

On the day of the Nov. 3 election, results from the Associated Press showed that Letlow led in first place with 33% of the primary vote and Harris came in second with 17%. However, no one was able to reach at least 50% of the primary vote. Hence, the runoff.

The 5th district is Louisiana’s only congressional race that has not been resolved. The district is the largest in the state because it consists of Northeast Louisiana, North Central Louisiana, and part of Southeast Louisiana.

According to his campaign website, Luke Letlow is a Republican from Monroe who graduated with a bachelors from Louisiana Tech University in Ruston.

Abraham has endorsed him, and has said that he knows the district better than anyone.

Letlow is passionate about supporting Louisiana farmers, timber and logging companies, and veterans. On a national level he still wants to completely fund the military and continue to protect national security. He is also pro-life and a strong defender of the second amendment.

According to Lance Harris’ website, he is a Republican from Pineville. He started at Northwester State University in 1979 to pursue a degree in piano performance, and graduated from the Louisiana Banking School of the South in 1984.

He has stated and owned many companies, including Leebo’s Store, Stokes-Harris Enterprises and Woodside Pecan and Cattle Farms. He has been a Member of the Louisiana House of Representatives since 2011, in District 25.

Harris is pro-business and wants smaller government involvement in public policy and private sectors. He believes his major success is authoring the nation’s first “Blue Lives Matter” law that protects police, firefighters and EMS personnel from hate crimes.

Harris, like Letlow is also pro-life and a supporter of the second amendment.

Voting: Early voting for the congressional runoff is Nov. 20 to 28, with the exception of Nov. 22, 26 and 27 for holidays. The last day to vote and the day of the election is Dec. 5.