(The Center Square) — Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District has one clear favorite, incumbent U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow, R-La., for the Nov. 5 election.
The district covers the crease of the boot from Morehouse Parish in the north to Washington Parish in the east and has been represented by Republicans for quite some time now.
Letlow won by majority vote in the primary during a special election held in March 2021 to replace her husband, former U.S. Rep. Luke Letlow, who won the 2020 December general election and died from complications of COVID-19 before he could be sworn into office.
Letlow won again in the 2022 primary amongst a crowded field.
This time the congresswoman has less competition, with one challenger from both sides of the aisle.
The other Republican candidate is M.V. Mendoza, a well-travelled scholar who was born in Guatemala and served in the U.S. Air Force for 20 years. He’s a somewhat familiar face as he ran against Letlow in the 2021 special election as an independent, but couldn’t get more than 0.2% of the vote.
Although Mendoza is running as a Republican, his campaign page says he wants to focus on helping the poor in the 5th Congressional District and taxing the rich. Not only that, Mendoza says the economic status of many lower income households in the 5th Congressional District have their congresswoman to blame.
“The incumbent, Julia Letlow, has had three years of on-the-job training while families in this district have faced increasingly difficult circumstances,” Mendoza’s campaign page says. “While you’ve been losing an average of $600 a month on higher grocery prices, utility bills, and prescription costs — or up to $1,500 a month if you’re paying for insurance that’s gone up by as much as 40% — Julia Letlow has been collecting thousands in political contributions.”
Mendoza also says she’s a failed educator and has done nothing to impact education in Louisiana.
Like Mendoza, the Democrat candidate, Michael Vallien Jr., has reported no campaign finance activity, either donations or expenditures, to the Federal Election Commission.
Letlow has a large campaign war chest, $1.85 million total since the beginning of 2023, according to data from the FEC.
