<ul class="summary-list"><li>Rep. <keyword id="10596951" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="julia-letlow">Julia Letlow</keyword> of <keyword id="60111" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Louisiana">Louisiana</keyword> is urging people to get vaccinated against <keyword id="8763838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="covid-19">COVID-19</keyword>. </li><li>Her husband, <keyword id="10519077" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="luke-letlow">Luke Letlow</keyword>, died of COVID-19 last year.</li><li>She says she "would have given everything" to have had a vaccine available before her husband died.</li></ul>A Republican US congresswoman from Louisiana whose husband died of COVID-19 last year is urging people to get vaccinated against the virus.Rep. Julia Letlow's husband, Luke Letlow, had just been elected to congress when he <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/louisiana-congressman-elect-luke-letlow-has-died-from-covid-19-2020-12">died of COVID-19 in December</a>, before he could get a vaccine. Following his <keyword id="6355784" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="death">death</keyword>, Julia Letlow took his seat after winning a special election in March."He had no preexisting conditions, so there was no reason it had to go down that path," she <a href="https://twitter.com/CBSThisMorning/status/1422890985579819011">told "CBS This Morning" on Wednesday.</a>She said she opted to speak out about her husband's death in hopes of encouraging others to get vaccinated and prevent more deaths.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">-CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1422890985579819011?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 4, 2021</a></blockquote>"People don't want to feel forced into anything, they don't want to be lectured too," she said of Louisiana residents being hesitant to get the COVID-19 vaccine. "I would have given anything - I would have given everything - for that shot to be available to us."She said it's "heartbreaking" to see people turn down COVID-19 vaccines."My prayer is that not one more person has to lose their life to this virus," she said. "It is a horrific way to leave this world. I don't wish it on anyone else. We have the answer; let's use it."

A Louisiana congresswoman whose husband died of COVID-19 is urging people to get vaccinated

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="10596951" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="julia-letlow">Julia Letlow</keyword>, the widow of Congressman-elect <keyword id="10519077" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="luke-letlow">Luke Letlow</keyword>, said that's she's running in a <keyword id="60111" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Louisiana">Louisiana</keyword> special <keyword id="6359191" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="election">election</keyword> to fill his seat. </li><li>"Everything in my life and in my marriage has prepared me for this moment," she said in a statement on Thursday.</li><li>Luke Letlow was poised to be Louisiana's newest Republican member of <keyword id="1575" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Congress">Congress</keyword> but he died from COVID-19 complications shortly before being sworn into office.</li></ul>Julia Letlow, the widow of Congressman-elect Luke Letlow, announced on Thursday that she'll run in a special Louisiana election to fill his empty seat."Everything in my life and in my marriage has prepared me for this moment," she said in a statement reported by the <a href="https://www.thenewsstar.com/story/news/politics/2021/01/14/julia-letlow-widow-rep-elect-luke-letlow-run-congress/4151817001/">Monroe News-Star</a>."My motivation is the passion Luke and I both shared: to better this region that we called home and to leave it a better place for our children and future generations," she added. "I am running to continue the mission Luke started - to stand up for our Christian values, to fight for our rural agricultural communities and to deliver real results to move our state forward.''Julia Letlow lost her husband to COVID-19 <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/louisiana-congressman-elect-luke-letlow-has-died-from-covid-19-2020-12">complications</a> on December 29, less than a week before he was set to be sworn into office as Louisiana's newest member of Congress. He was 41, and the couple has two children.Congress <a href="https://www.speaker.gov/newsroom/122920-1">members</a> and Louisiana state officials expressed condolences after Luke Letlow's sudden death, and his friends <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rep-elect-luke-letlow-covid-19-champion-for-rural-us-2020-12">said</a> he was "destined for big things."A Republican, Luke Letlow won the December runoff election for the 5th Congressional District in the red state with 62% of the vote, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/12/05/us/elections/results-louisiana-house-district-5-runoff.html">The New York Times.</a> He would've replaced outgoing Rep. Ralph Abraham, who he previously worked for as chief of staff.Following Luke Letlow's death, Gov. John Bel Edwards <a href="https://gov.louisiana.gov/assets/Proclamations/2021/2-JBE-2021-Special-Election-5th-Congressional-District.pdf">announced</a> a special election would take place to fill his vacant seat. A primary is scheduled for March 20, followed by a general election on April 24. Julia Letlow works as an executive at the University of Louisiana Monroe. She did not immediately return Insider's request for comment.

Louisiana Rep.-elect Luke Letlow died from COVID-19 complications shortly before his swearing-in. Now his wife is running in a special election to fill his seat.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>GOP Rep-elect Julia <keyword id="10520749" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="letlow">Letlow</keyword> is urging Republicans to get vaccinated against the <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword>. </li><li>Letlow's husband, Rep-elect Luke Letlow, 41, died from COVID-19 complications in December. </li><li>"Look at my family, use my story," Letlow told <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/live/video/20210328202724-congresswoman-elect-dr-julia-letlow-on-face-the-nation/#x">CBS's "Face the Nation."</a></li></ul>GOP rep-elect Julia Letlow, the widow of congressman-elect Luke Letlow, who died of COVID-19, urged Republicans to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. "Look at my family, use my story. You know, I experienced a tragedy in my immediate family and COVID can touch every family out there. And so, you know, there is a vaccine that has lifesaving capabilities. I want to encourage everyone to trust it and get the vaccine," Letlow told <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/live/video/20210328202724-congresswoman-elect-dr-julia-letlow-on-face-the-nation/#x">CBS's "Face the Nation."</a>Her husband, Luke Letlow, 41, was an incoming GOP congressman from Louisiana when he <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/louisiana-congressman-elect-luke-letlow-has-died-from-covid-19-2020-12">died from COVID-19 complications in late December</a>. Letlow ran to fill his seat in a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/widow-of-louisiana-rep-elect-luke-letlow-runs-for-seat-2021-1">special Louisiana election</a> and last week <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/louisiana-2nd-5th-congressional-district-special-elections-results-2021-3">won with 62 percent of the vote</a> in the 12-way race. More than a third of adults have received their first shots as the vaccination rollout progress throughout the US, but several polls have found that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/white-republicans-more-likely-to-reject-covid-19-vaccine-2021-3">white Republicans are expressing the most vaccine hesitancy. </a>Recent polling by <a href="https://civiqs.com/results/coronavirus_vaccine?annotations=true&amp;uncertainty=true&amp;zoomIn=true&amp;trendline=trueendline=true">Civiqs</a> found that 56% of white Republicans said they were either unsure or would not take a COVID-19 vaccine if it were available to them. By comparison, only 7% of white Democrats, 31% of Black Americans, and 30% of Latinx Americans expressed hesitancy. Letlow, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, told CBS both Trump and President Joe Biden have spoken with her. "They were both so gracious and expressed their condolences and President Biden, who is no stranger to loss as well, shared with me that he understood the pain that I was walking through and that it will get better. And I know it will," she said. Letlow is also the first Republican woman elected to Congress in Louisiana and said she has plans to advocate for equal pay for women, as well as accessible broadband for her district, which has a high poverty rate. Have a news tip? Contact this reporter at <a href="mailto:you@insider.com?inline-read-more" target="_blank" rel="noopener">salarshani@insider.com</a>

Rep-elect Julia Letlow, whose husband died from COVID-19, is urging Republicans to get vaccinated

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Luke <keyword id="10520749" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="letlow">Letlow</keyword>, Congressman-elect from <keyword id="60111" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Louisiana">Louisiana</keyword>, died Tuesday from <keyword id="8763838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="covid-19">COVID-19</keyword> complications.</li><li>The 41-year-old Republican was otherwise healthy and set to be inaugurated next month.</li><li>Friends say Letlow was beyond partisan <keyword id="6358883" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="politics">politics</keyword> and instead was a champion for rural America, like the community where he grew up. </li></ul>Luke Letlow, a Republican from one of the poorest <a href="https://www.census.gov/mycd/?st=22&amp;cd=05d=05">districts in the US</a>, launched his campaign for congress on the day the first COVID-19 case was reported in Louisiana.He ran to replace Congressman Ralph Abraham - his former boss and good friend - in the middle of a pandemic when fundraising events and meet-and-greets were a challenge.He also had to campaign without access to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/todays-election-could-impact-broadband-access-2020-11">high-speed internet</a> at his rural Richland Parish home.Letlow still won in a landslide and was to be inaugurated next month."He was very uncommon when you compare him to modern-day politicians, especially the younger politicians. He was very rural rooted and he loved being from a rural community," Letlow's best friend and campaign chairman Scott Franklin told Insider. "He fully understood the struggle that rural America is going through." Letlow, 41, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/louisiana-congressman-elect-luke-letlow-has-died-from-covid-19-2020-12">died Tuesday night from complications related to COVID-19</a>. He had tested positive for the <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> on Dec. 18. and suffered a heart attack following surgery at Ochsner LSU Health in Shreveport, the Monroe News-Star first reported.He had no preexisting conditions. By Tuesday, more than 247,000 Louisiana residents had been infected, according to <a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html">Johns Hopkins University. </a>Franklin told Insider that Letlow was a history buff who loved to learn as much as he could about their agrarian community and share it with the world. He started the blog <a href="https://richlandroots.com/">Richlandroots.com</a> and filled it with facts about his community. "He did that all himself. He would go to estate sales all over the state to find information about people who were from our home," Franklin said. "What was going to make him great is that he didn't care about the credit. I know when people die, they make people out to be saints when they weren't, but I'm telling you, he didn't care about accolades." Letlow worked briefly in the private sector in Colorado and came back to Louisiana to help Abraham, a local doctor turned politician, run for Congress. When Abraham was elected, Letlow worked as his chief of staff. He had also worked for former Governor Bobby Jindal. While they grew up in the same community and knew each other by name, Letlow and Franklin didn't become friends until about seven years ago. That was when Letlow joined Franklin's local effort to create the first-ever chamber of commerce for Richland parish - an all-volunteer organization. "Here's a guy who's destined for big things and I was the chairman. You'd think he'd not be used to playing follower. You'd think a politician would be like 'who are you to tell me?'" Franklin, a rice farmer, said. "He said 'I believe in it. I believe the causes. He was one of the founders, and we became best friends because we shared an interest in doing better for Richland." <div type="image" title="Chamber of commerce, Luke Letlow" height="480" width="640" msid="80037047" hostid="261"></div><h3>'A rural champion'</h3>Louisiana's fifth congressional district, for which Letlow was elected to serve, runs up the center of the state to the Arkansas border. Letlow looked forward to <a href="https://lukeletlow.com/issues/#farmers">fighting for policies</a> that would help serve the poorest in his district, including those in Richland, Franklin said.One of his highest priorities was securing widespread access to broadband internet, which is still inaccessible to many rural residents. "He didn't have high speed internet at his house. Luke just notices, with the pandemic kids are having to learn remotely, how are you going to do that if you don't have high speed internet?" Franklin said. Broadband infrastructure isn't necessarily a partisan issue, Franklin said, but it was expensive, and because it serves primarily those who live in communities with few voters it tends to be overlooked.Letlow was somewhat unusual in modern day politics as he occasionally strayed from the party line, Franklin said.He cared deeply about protecting the Mississippi River from flooding. "Luke saw the Mississippi River as a gift from God. It can give to us and it can take away from us," Franklin said.He was also a proponent of leaning into growth opportunities in the agriculture sector."What Luke really harped on is that there are opportunities in agriculture," Franklin said. "Not everyone is a farmer, but everyone eats. We're so good at growing food, we have a diverse crop make-up, why not capitalize on the things we know best?" Letlow could have made a good salary working in the private sector, Franklin said, but was propelled into state politics because he was sick of watching his community get left out. "Over the last 20 years, politicians don't really care about places with only one stoplight because that's not where voters are. We matter," Franklin said. "We work hard, we pay our taxes, we have a great community, but unfortunately politicians on both sides of the aisle have ignored rural people of all backgrounds and races. That's what really disgusted Luke." Even when working in state office, Letlow had the phone nearly "glued to his ear" fielding calls from residents who had issues with their roads, taxes, or other inconveniences, Franklin said. Letlow would do what he could to help from behind the scenes. "Luke was going to be the rural champion," he said. Letlow surrounded himself with people who he felt were also community-minded. Rep. Ralph Abraham, who he would be elected to replace, and Rep. Garret Graves, of the state's sixth congressional district, were among people he respected, even when their thoughts on policy differed. "There is a divide in politics: there are real people and then the people who are in show business," Franklin said. "Garrett and Dr. Ralph Abraham, they're real. They're not looking for a spot on the <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="news">news</keyword> station. They're not looking to tweet out gibberish to get attention. They're there to go to work." Abraham released a statement on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CongressmanRalphAbraham/posts/2762872457263720">Facebook which read in part,</a> "There was no one like Luke Letlow, and there was no one who loved this state and its people more. Luke was a part of our family, and we are so incredibly proud of the man he was."Franklin said he is reeling from the loss of his friend and heartbroken for Letlow's wife Julia and their two young children, 3-year-old Jeremiah, and 11-month-old Jacqueline. Since Tuesday, politicians across the state have been sharing their reactions to Letlow's death online. But Franklin said not all of the comments have felt authentic because some have come from people who didn't even reach out when Letlow was sick. "The political world is just encapsulating themselves in the story, even if they didn't know Luke," Franklin said. "Julia and their two children are going through an extremely difficult time. When the smoke clears and the story isn't warm anymore, are people just going to forget about them?"Letlow's wife, Julia Barnhill, is declining media requests for the time being, Franklin said. Through a spokesperson, the family told the News-Star that memorial plans will be released in the future."The family appreciates the numerous prayers and support over the past days but asks for privacy during this difficult and unexpected time," spokesman Andrew Bautsch said in the statement to the local paper. "A statement from the family along with funeral arrangements will be announced at a later time."<div type="image" title="luke letlow" height="2736" width="3648" msid="80037049" hostid="261"></div><h2>In rural America, learning to be socially distant is an adjustment</h2>Getting to know your constituents is important no matter where you're campaigning, but in rural Louisiana, it is the only way to succeed, Franklin said.For the first few months of Letlow's campaign, he didn't host any fundraising events and avoided in-person meet and greets as much as possible, Franklin said. After a while, they started to host events, but at a limited capacity, Franklin said. "I know people are sifting through social media to find photos of him not wearing a mask, but I am telling you, he made an effort to do the best he could while still reaching the people," Franklin said. "Despite coronavirus, these people needed a hero. And in this district, to do that you have to meet people. They have to look you in the eye and understand they can trust you." "It wasn't perfect, but I think he did the best he could," he added.Franklin said that Letlow's last days alive were difficult, as he was quarantined alone without visitors. <iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Flukeletlow%2Fposts%2F222008329422285&amp;width=500&amp;show_text=true&amp;height=345&amp;appId" width="500" height="345" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe>"When we talked on the phone, he was bored to tears. He was pretty depressed," he said.Franklin said he tried to explain to Letlow that if he had fallen ill or had been injured during normal times, there would be a line around the block of visitors wishing him well."That's the sad part of the coronavirus, it just takes all the love out of the world," Franklin said, adding that social distancing proved difficult for small, tight-knit communities. "It's hard in small-town Louisiana because we're just not used to that. We're a very friendly community. The community is all we have. And we just had a really hard time adjusting to that, especially around the holidays," he said. "It's not because we're stupid or we don't know there is a virus in our world. It's just because it's just not in our nature to be socially distant." Letlow's death came as a shock to the state, and to those who loved him. Being only 41 and otherwise healthy, he was not at an elevated risk of complications from the deadly virus."Their son and my son are the same age," Franklin said. "I just thought there would be so much time for us to enjoy raising children in the same community. That's gone now." LSU Health Shreveport Chancellor G.E. Ghali said Wednesday that Letlow's death was devastating to the entire medical team, the News-Star reported."He had no underlying conditions," Ghali said. "It was just COVID."While the fifth district might have lost their incoming hero, Franklin doesn't think that his legacy will end here. "I think Letlow is going to be the benchmark for anyone who comes in in the future. The story is so sad it's going to linger in this community for a long time."

Congressman-elect Luke Letlow who died of COVID-19 was an incoming champion for rural America and 'destined for big things,' friends say

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Louisiana GOP Rep.-elect Luke Letlow died from COVID-19 on Tuesday, less than two weeks after announcing that he tested positive for the virus.</li><li>He was set to be sworn into Congress on Sunday.</li><li>Letlow, 41, had been in the intensive-care unit since December 23.</li></ul>Louisiana GOP Rep.-elect Luke Letlow died from COVID-19 on Tuesday. He was 41."It is with heavy hearts that @FirstLadyOfLA and I offer our condolences to Congressman-elect Luke Letlow's family on his passing after a battle with COVID-19," <a href="https://twitter.com/LouisianaGov/status/1344114438652252160?s=20">Gov. John Bel Edwards tweeted</a>.Letlow announced on December 18 that he had tested positive for the <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword>. The next day, he was admitted to the St. Francis Medical Center in Monroe, <a href="https://www.thenewsstar.com/story/news/2020/12/19/luke-letlow-la-louisiana-congressman-elect-hospitalized-covid-19/3974083001/">the Monroe News Star reported</a>. On December 23, he was transferred to the intensive-care unit at Ochsner LSU Health in Shreveport, where he died.While he was a patient at the St. Francis Medical Center, Letlow encouraged his constituents to donate blood and plasma."While here, I've learned firsthand how important plasma and blood donations are during this pandemic," <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lukeletlow/posts/222008329422285">he wrote on Facebook</a>. "For those who've had Covid already, your plasma is ESPECIALLY needed by those who are suffering. I cannot stress this enough. Please consider saving lives by going out and donating at your local blood bank. It may very well be the gift of life that you are giving a family this Christmas."He was set to be sworn in at the next congressional session on Sunday. Letlow won his district in a runoff election against Republican Rep. Lance Harris with 62% of the vote, <a href="https://www.thenewsstar.com/story/news/2020/12/29/louisiana-congressman-elect-luke-letlow-dies-covid/4082977001/">the News Star reported</a>.Before he was elected, Letlow served as the chief of staff to Rep. Ralph Abraham, <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/12/29/luke-letlow-covid-congress-452218">Politico reported</a>.<a href="https://www.facebook.com/CongressmanRalphAbraham/posts/2762872457263720"></a>"There was no one like Luke Letlow, and there was no one who loved this state and its people more," <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CongressmanRalphAbraham/posts/2762872457263720">Abraham said in a statement on Facebook</a>. "Luke was a part of our family, and we are so incredibly proud of the man he was."House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also offered condolences. "Congressman-elect Letlow was a ninth generation Louisianan who fought passionately for his point of view and dedicated his life to public service," <a href="https://www.speaker.gov/newsroom/122920-1">she said</a>.Letlow is survived by his wife and two children.Louisiana <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html">has reported more than 300,000 coronavirus cases</a> since March, and more 7,300 people in the state have died from it.

41-year-old Louisiana Congressman-elect Luke Letlow died from COVID-19 less than a week before he was set to take office

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Republican Rep. <keyword id="12579356" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="kat-cammack" source="Orion">Kat Cammack</keyword> of Florida was booed on the House Floor after she referred to the <keyword id="12054670" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="build-back-better" source="Orion">Build Back Better</keyword> spending bill as "Build Back Broke."</li><li>Cammack said she was voting "hell no" on the bill and was designated by some Republican fellow House members to issue their votes on their behalf. </li></ul>A U.S. House Representative from Florida was booed on the House Floor after she referred to President <keyword id="99719" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="joe-biden" source="Orion">Joe Biden</keyword>'s spending bill as "Build Back Broke." Republican Rep. Kat Cammack of Florida said she was voting "hell no" on Biden's Build Back Better spending bill and was designated by some of her Republican colleagues to issue similar votes on their behalf. "As a member voting 'hell no' on this bill, and the member designated by Ms. Letlow of the state of Louisiana, I inform the house that Ms. Letlow will vote nay on H.R. 5376, a.k.a. build back broke, and as the member designated by Mr. Loudermilk of the state of – Madam Speaker, the House is not in order."Cammack stopped her speech to request that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi call the House to order after she was met with boo's. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Congresswoman Kat Cammack (@RepKatCammack) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1461711366658707457?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 19, 2021</a></blockquote>In a <a href="https://twitter.com/RepKatCammack/status/1461735669685010433?s=20">statement</a>, Cammack referred to the bill as a "dumpster fire." House <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/house-passes-bidens-social-spending-bill-pelosi-senate-mccarthy-reconciliation-2021-11">Democrats passed the nearly $2 trillion social spending bill</a> on Friday morning that will set up universal pre-K for toddlers and renew monthly cash payments to the vast majority of American families for another year. The bill will also expand Medicare, enact paid family and medical leave, and issue caps for some prescription drugs, among other things.The bill, which will be paid for largely by tax hikes on the rich and large firms who pay little to nothing in federal taxes, went to the Senate. There, it faces an uncertain future as Sen. Joe Manchin has not committed to backing the bill.

WATCH: A Florida representative was booed on the House Floor after calling Biden's spending bill 'Build Back Broke'

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Louisianans voted in two special US House <keyword id="6355644" type="DEFINITION" weightage="60" keywordseo="elections">elections</keyword> on Saturday. </li><li>The elections will fill vacancies in the 2nd and 5th Congressional Districts. </li><li>Julia Letlow won the race for the 5th District, while two candidates advanced to a runoff in the 2nd.</li></ul><keyword id="60111" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Louisiana">Louisiana</keyword> held special elections for two vacant US House seats on Saturday, March 20. Polls closed at 8 p.m. Central Time. The 2nd District, which is based in southern Louisiana and includes part of the Baton Rouge area and all of New Orleans, was vacated by former Rep. <keyword id="4048118" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Cedric-Richmond">Cedric Richmond</keyword>, who left Congress to serve in the White House as Director fo the Office of Public Engagement and a senior advisor to President Joe Biden. State Senators Karen Carter Peterson and Troy Carter advanced to a runoff for the safely-Democratic seat, which <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2012/11/19/1163009/-Daily-Kos-Elections-presidential-results-by-congressional-district-for-the-2012-2008-elections">gave Biden over 75% of the vote in 2020</a>, Insider and Decision Desk HQ. Richmond has endorsed Carter as his replacement, while Peterson has received the backing of EMILY's List and Stacey Abrams, <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Louisiana%27s_2nd_Congressional_District_special_election,_2021">according to Ballotpedia. </a>In the 5th District, Rep.-elect Luke Letlow, who was elected to succeed retiring Rep. Ralph Abraham, died of COVID-19 on December 29, 2020, before he was able to assume office. <a href="https://www.nationaljournal.com/wp/wednesday-qa-with-julia-letlow-after-losing-her-husband-to-the-pandemic-julia-letlow-picked-up-the-torch-and-is-the-front-runner-to-replace-him-in-louisianas-5th-district/">Letlow's widow, Julia Letlow</a>, who works as an administrator at the University of Louisiana-Monroe, will win the race to replace him outright with enough votes to avoid a runoff, Insider and Decision Desk HQ projected Saturday night.The 5th District, which contains a large portion of eastern Louisiana, is safely Republican, backing former President Donald Trump by a margin of over 30 percentage points in 2020, <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2012/11/19/1163009/-Daily-Kos-Elections-presidential-results-by-congressional-district-for-the-2012-2008-elections">according to Daily Kos.</a>Louisiana uses a "jungle" election system where all the candidates from all parties run in the same primary, instead of separate primaries for each party. Since neither candidate earned over 50% of the vote in the 2nd District, Carter and Peterson will advance to a general runoff on April 24, with the winner seated in Congress shortly after. There are currently <a href="https://pressgallery.house.gov/member-data/party-breakdown">five total vacancies in the House</a>, creating a precarious situation for Democratic leaders presiding over a narrow eight-seat majority of 219-211 with some seats set to be vacant for months. The special election to replace the late Republican Rep. Ron Wright of Texas's 6th District, who died of COVID-19 on February 7, will take place on May 1. And two representatives from safely Democratic seats, former Rep. Deb Haaland of New Mexico and former Rep. Marcia Fudge of Ohio, were tapped to serve in Biden's cabinet as Secretary of the Interior and Secretary of Housing &amp; Urban Development, respectively. The special election to replace Haaland will take place on June 1, with the nominees selected by party committees. The <a href="https://go2.nationaljournal.com/NTU2LVlFRS05NjkAAAF76i9WPacoNXuDHWjvekt3XUZuSXeJUmB-IwhevceGhVjAq6mn63pY3nOcKISzQ6DTsQ9BZHw=">primary to replace Fudge</a> in Ohio's 11th District will be on August 3 and the general election on November 2.

RESULTS: Louisianians voted to fill 2 US House vacancies in Saturday special elections

<ul class="summary-list"><li>As conservatives flee Blue State hostility and lockdowns, South <keyword id="6357385" type="LOCATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="florida">Florida</keyword> has become a GOP power base.</li><li>The GOP social calendar orbits <keyword id="6354862" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="trump">Trump</keyword>'s <keyword id="3285762" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Mar-a-Lago">Mar-a-Lago</keyword>, while revelers party mask-free at swank house parties and penthouses. </li><li>Greater <keyword id="15641" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Miami">Miami</keyword> has lured California tech and right-wing <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="news">news</keyword>. Florida's <keyword id="6358883" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="politics">politics</keyword> is meanwhile shifting Red.</li></ul>Brittney Reed needed to get in front of Donald Trump and it had to happen fast.It was the eve of two special elections in Louisiana, and Reed--the head of the Louisiana GOP--knew an endorsement from Trump could make the difference. So, she had secured a last-minute ticket for a fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago and flew to Palm Beach to make her case in person.It was mid-March, and Mar-a-Lago had <a href="https://apnews.com/article/mar-a-lago-partially-closed-covid-19-outbreak-32a7a9694c1f738eef6af6d3fc6e5aa1">partially closed</a> a section of the club after several workers tested positive for COVID-19. But Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who became a national figure for loosening coronavirus restrictions, had booked the club for the evening and his event went on as planned. When DeSantis and Trump finished their remarks, Reed made a beeline for the former president to discuss the two Republicans she wanted in Congress: Julia Letlow, the widow of congressman-elect Luke Letlow, who had died from COVID complications, and Claston Bernard, a former LSU track star.Trump turned to DeSantis and others around him."Ron, what do you think of this race here?" Trump said, according to sources with knowledge of the event. (Representatives for Trump, DeSantis, and Bernard did not respond to Insider's questions about the encounter.) "Is it possible, what do you think?"The crowd agreed that Letlow was a good bet, while DeSantis said Bernard's seat "wasn't winnable" because the district was heavily Democratic. Trump had <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/542674-trump-endorses-widow-of-rep-elect-luke-letlow-in-louisiana-house-race">praised </a>Letlow before, but it wasn't widely known his removal from social media platforms had silenced the former president's preferred megaphone. "How am I going to do this endorsement if I do it?" Trump asked.<div type="image" title="Mar a Lago better" height="2000" width="3000" msid="82006946" hostid="261"></div>"Put a press release out. We'll get it everywhere," Reed said.The following day, Trump released a statement <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/544146-trump-boosts-julia-letlow-ahead-of-louisiana-special-election">promoting</a> Letlow's candidacy. She <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/03/20/julia-letlow-special-election-louisiana-477350">won</a> easily.<h2>Mar-a-La-Go-Go</h2>South Florida has long been a haven for those fleeing frigid winters and high taxes. Once the pandemic began, a jet set of monied Manhattanites, tech entrepreneurs, and untethered influencers restless from Blue State lockdowns flocked to Miami en masse -- helping turn Greater Miami into a <keyword id="58815" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="conservative">conservative</keyword> power base.Once Mar-a-Lago went from being Trump's "Winter White House" to full-time residence, the <keyword id="155317" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Republican">Republican</keyword> Party's social calendar has increasingly orbited his beachfront Xanadu. "Republicans used to go to the Upper East Side to raise money but most of those people aren't even in New York anymore. They're in their second home in South Florida," said Adam Weiss, a Miami-based public relations executive. "Now that New York completely shut down, that drove a whole new group of people to come down here." So far this year, Trump's members-only resort has hosted high-dollar soirees for DeSantis, Utah Senator Mike Lee, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Arkansas gubernatorial candidate Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and Alabama Senate candidate Lynda Blanchard. "I have to say, I'm getting calls from senators, they all want our endorsement and I'm being very selective," Trump said at the Noem gathering, which donors <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/02/23/kristi-noem-trump-fundraiser-471159">paid</a> $4,000 to attend. Party honchos even relocated their confabs to South Florida to ensure a Trump appearance.The American Conservative Union <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cpac-2021-speakers-trump-pence-orlando-republican-conservative-2021-2">switched</a> its annual CPAC event from suburban Maryland to Orlando in February to avoid limits on large indoor gatherings. It was there that Trump made his first public remarks since leaving office. <div type="image" title="Trump won" height="3581" width="5249" msid="82006949" hostid="261"></div>The Republican National Committee picked Palm Beach for its spring donor retreat in April and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-rnc-mar-a-lago/2021/03/08/0b693fce-8051-11eb-bb5a-ad9a91faa4ef_story.html">set</a> a portion of the weekend at Mar-a-Lago to appease Trump after officials <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-cease-and-desist-name-likeness-republican-fundraising-rnc-2021-3">angered</a> the former president by using his image in its fundraisers.When Air Force One touched down in West Palm Beach on Jan. 20, hundreds of MAGA-hatted faithful lined Southern Boulevard gripping blue "Trump 2020" flags and hand painted "Trump Won" signs as the former president's motorcade whizzed by.It was a far friendlier atmosphere than he had lately experienced in Manhattan, where raucous protesters would pack Fifth Avenue, at the foot of Trump Tower, whenever Trump returned from Washington. "It's a wealthy place and there's not many places where there are so many heavy hitters who are Republican," Weiss said.<div type="image" title="Arrest Trump 2 " height="2334" width="3500" msid="82006954" hostid="261"></div><h2>"Isn't it so nice that Miami is open?"</h2>Power lunches in Palm Beach still <a href="https://pagesix.com/2021/02/19/upper-east-side-power-dining-scene-relocates-to-palm-beach/">reign</a> among Trump's inner circle. Rudy Giuliani is known to hold court at The Breakers and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has been seen dining at La Bilboquet, a Worth Avenue outpost of a high-end Manhattan eatery that opened in February. The afterparty crowd for Mar-a-Lago events often hits Cucina Palm Beach where Kimberly Guilfoyle, who <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9436083/Donald-Melania-Trump-attend-Easter-service-spending-day-Mar-Lago-grandkids.html">purchased</a> a $9.7 million mansion with her boyfriend Don Jr. in nearby Jupiter, has been spotted dancing on the tables. The love for Trump spreads 70 miles south of Mar-a-Lago to Miami, a city that never sleeps thanks to many coronavirus restrictions lifting months ago.They pack into Carbone, one of the restaurants dotting Collins Avenue in South Beach. Or Socialista, a swanky lounge attached to Cipriani Restaurant, where transplants from San Francisco start-ups rub shoulders with maskless models and the occasional conservative influencer, before moving on to an all-night <a href="https://pagesix.com/2021/01/25/former-real-housewives-star-fined-for-wild-house-parties-in-miami/">party</a> at a South Beach penthouse or at the Star Island mansion of plastic surgeon Leonard Hochstein and "Real Housewives of Miami" star Lisa Hochstein. "Isn't it so nice that Miami is open?" one tech founder, who called himself a COVID refugee, said. "I'm so over COVID."But the hottest reservation in Biscayne Bay is Joia Beach, a Mykonos-inspired beach club with views of megayachts and the Miami skyline. There's currently a three-month wait on Open Table but VIPs like Akon, Maluma, Adriana Lima, hedge fund manager Dan Loeb, and Tiffany Trump have snagged tables to nibble on Tasmanian trout crudo ($20), Turkish octopus ($30), and winter fennel and crab salad ($28). It helps to be on a texting basis with one of the restaurant's partners. Others have tried more unusual measures."People have swam in," Marko Gojanovic, a Joia Beach partner and real estate agent, said. "There are people who have tried to pull jet skis in areas we can't see. People have paddled up to us. Thank God we have security." <div type="image" title="Ron and Kim" height="2738" width="4107" msid="82006957" hostid="261"></div>Coronavirus is still raging in Florida a year after the pandemic began. The state has had more than <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/us/florida-covid-cases.html">2 million</a> cases and 33,000 deaths, with a quarter of the state's total occurring in Miami-Dade County alone. But South Floridians--old timers and new arrivals alike--have largely shed their coronavirus concerns like a chunky sweater at the beach.No one shames people for forgoing masks at hotels and restaurants or packing house parties. Mar-a-Lago remains a mask-free zone.Contrast that to what happened in the northeast last winter, when a video of a Queens Republican club's Christmas party, featuring a maskless conga line, gained <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/12/30/951267532/multiple-coronavirus-cases-after-republican-christmas-party-in-new-york">3.7 million views</a> online and drew torrents of condemnation. Manhattan Young Republicans were so spooked by the media they <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/03/nyregion/young-republicans-club-party.html">held</a> their winter gala at a secret location in New Jersey.Washington has become less hospitable to Trump-friendly conservatives too. American Conservative Union chairman Matt Schlapp said he's had several hostile encounters with progressives in public. He and his wife, former White House communications aide Mercedes Schlapp, are eyeing a move south."I was eating a salad last weekend at a restaurant in Old Town Alexandria and was berated by a woman who called me an 'a--hole,'" Schlapp said. "Usually you have to cut someone off in traffic to earn that kind of title but here you just have to be someone recognized for being a Republican."<h2>The Great Republican Migration</h2>South Florida has been beckoning conservatives for years, but locals say the influx has accelerated since Trump took office in 2017. <div type="image" title="Thank U Trump" height="2849" width="4273" msid="82006960" hostid="261"></div>Fox News is still headquartered in Manhattan but other right-wing outlets have proliferated along the Gold Coast. <a href="https://www.insider.com/newsmax-anchor-greg-kelly-defends-trump-but-who-is-he-2021-1">Newsmax</a>, the Boca Raton-based cable channel, is <a href="https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/elections/fl-ne-newsmax-expansion-news-bureaus-biden-trump-20201210-fzi24y7isvax3ovspxonyazr7m-story.html">adding a news bureau</a> in Miami later this year. Conservative radio host and Palm City resident Dan Bongino is one of several commentators trying out for the slot that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sandra-fluke-says-shes-countering-the-hatred-rush-limbaugh-sowed-2021-2">Rush Limbaugh</a> anchored from Palm Beach until his death earlier this year. Far-right podcaster Bill Mitchell has been broadcasting his <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bill-mitchell-donald-trump-supporter-move-to-miami_n_5d5302a0e4b05fa9df05df82">YourVoice America</a> program from Miami since 2019. And MAGA influencer Maggie Vandenberghe fled California for Palm Beach this winter.The party's donor class soon followed. Billionaires fleeing Blue State progressivism decamped to Miami's most exclusive islands. Palantir co-founder and Republican <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/29/peter-thiel-gives-six-figures-to-republican-national-committee.html">megadonor</a> Peter Thiel plunked down <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/miami-real-estate-ford-ceo-compound-photos-2020-10">$18 million</a> in September for a Venetian Islands chateau where MTV's "The Real World: Miami" was filmed. Founders Fund partner Keith Rabois <a href="https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/tech-icon-criticizes-San-Francisco-Keith-Rabois-15746116.php">chided</a> San Francisco for being "massively improperly run and managed" before dropping <a href="https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf=ALeKk02RYavWOystY0_hegTogRU1vMXOzA%3A1615496508614&amp;ei=PIVKYJL5JJXPtQa8irbYBg&amp;q=keith+rabois+miami&amp;oq=keith+rabois+miami&amp;gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAMyBAgjECcyBAgAEEMyAggAMgYIABAWEB5Q4MkTWODJE2C5zRNoAnAAeACAAW-IAdsBkgEDMC4ymAEAoAEBqgEHZ3dzLXdpesABAQ&amp;sclient=gws-wiz&amp;ved=0ahUKEwiSh6C8kanvAhWVZ80KHTyFDWsQ4dUDCA0&amp;uact=50KHTyFDWsQ4dUDCA0&amp;uact=5">$29 million</a> on an estate near Thiel in December, while Blumberg Capital's David Blumberg blamed "<a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/news/2020/12/01/prominent-venture-capitalist-joins-bay-area-exodus.html">poor governance</a>" in California before making his cross-country journey. "Miami should be the easiest and cheapest city in the country for somebody to start a business," Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said. "I want to make sure everyone around the country knows that Miami is here to help you grow, not keep you from growing."<h2>A political shift is underway </h2>Florida's transformation from swingy purple to deeper red would have been unthinkable two decades ago when George W. Bush won the state and the presidency by a minuscule 537 votes. Southeast Florida swelled more than a million people since 2000 but it is far less of a Democratic stronghold than it used to be. <div type="image" title="Trump and FL GOP " height="3432" width="5228" msid="82006965" hostid="261"></div>President Barack Obama won Palm Beach County by 24 points and Miami-Dade by 16 points in 2008 en route to statewide victories during both presidential campaigns. But Trump won twice by making up ground in Democratic <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/11/03/us/elections/results-florida-president.html">counties</a>. Florida Republicans knocked doors for months <a href="https://www.wmfe.org/republicans-in-florida-are-knocking-on-doors-to-shore-up-candidates/164091">boosting turnout</a> while the Biden curtailed canvassing during the health crisis. The Trump campaign also accused Democrats of supporting socialist policies -- a message that resonated among Cuban and Venezuelan immigrants who fled brutal left-wing regimes."Democrats were flat-footed in dealing with accusations of socialism in commercials where people had lived under the boot of socialism," Dan Gelber, Democratic mayor of South Beach, said. "I don't think we responded aggressively enough."Latino voters in Miami-Dade also <a href="https://www.axios.com/trump-data-latino-support-49a0f0ed-b244-4b27-86b3-ee022e21f8c1.html">feared</a> economic damage from school and business closures more than getting sick, according to voter data Equis <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20537484-equis_post-mortem_part_one__public_deck_">analyzed</a>.<div type="image" title="miami volleyball" height="2844" width="3956" msid="82006968" hostid="261"></div>"As bad as the coronavirus pandemic was in terms of caseloads and deaths, apparently a lot more Floridians were concerned with the economy and that certainly helped Trump," Aubrey Jewett, University of Central Florida political science professor, said.Trump's presence in Florida has benefited the state's ambitious officeholders. Ron DeSantis has become a 2024 frontrunner in <a href="https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/politics/2021/02/28/cpac-straw-poll-increases-buzz-ron-desantis-2024-presidential-run/6862699002/">several</a> <a href="https://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2021/03/05/desantis-and-pence-tied-in-new-poll-of-trump-voters-1366958">polls</a> after being one of the first governors to reopen his state. Marco Rubio has a clear shot at re-election and is again seen as a likely presidential candidate.While the coronavirus has sped up the conservative influx, it's not clear what will happen once the pandemic recedes. New arrivals could stay in South Florida now that remote work has become more prevalent and there's less of a need for face-to-face meetings.There's always been a stigma about Miami but people told me in their New York circles that stigma has been lifted," said Reid Heidenry, a Sotheby's agent who sold over $100 million in real estate in the past year, said. "In the business world, it's now socially acceptable to live in a place like Miami Beach."Whether a COVID refugee or long-time fixture of Miami Beach, there's one thing that's indisputable across party lines."Freedom tastes pretty good," Zangrillo said at a house party.

The Great GOP Migration: How South Florida became a shadow capital for Trump conservatives

<ul class="summary-list"><li>President-elect <keyword id="99719" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Joe-Biden">Joe Biden</keyword> noted Tuesday that it would take "years, not months," to vaccinate all Americans at the current rate.</li><li>Latest government data shows about 200,000 people are being vaccinated a day in the US, which is set to fall well short of its goal for 20 million <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> vaccines in 2020.</li><li>Biden wants the US to administer 100 million shots within his first 100 days in office. This would require Congress to approve extra funding, he said.</li><li>Even at this higher rate, it would still take months for most Americans to be vaccinated, he said, adding that the situation might not improve until "well into March."</li></ul>President-elect Joe Biden noted Tuesday that it would take years for all Americans to be vaccinated against <keyword id="8763838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="covid-19">COVID-19</keyword> at current distribution rates, as he again pledged to deliver 100 million vaccines within his first 100 days in the White House.Biden's prediction of a grim winter seemed meant to lower public expectations that the pandemic would be over soon after he takes office on January 20, while putting Congress on notice that he wants to significantly increase spending to expedite <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/when-can-i-get-a-coronavirus-vaccine-timeline-2020-11">vaccine distribution</a>, expand coronavirus testing, and help reopen shuttered schools.Biden said about 2 million people had received initial doses of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna two-dose vaccines, which are <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pfizer-moderna-covid-19-vaccines-comparison-how-the-shots-compare-2020-12">the only shots authorized</a> in the US. Biden has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/joe-and-jill-biden-receive-covid-19-vaccine-on-camera-2020-12">received his first of two doses</a>.US Department of Health and Human Services data cited by <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-29/u-s-vaccinations-at-200-000-a-day-run-far-short-of-warp-speed?sref=lAVQtUwz">Bloomberg</a> shows that about 200,000 people are being vaccinated a day on average, with many states slow to get shots they have been allocated into people's arms.At that rate, the White House is set to fall well short of its goal for 20 million people to be vaccinated by the end of 2020."The effort to distribute and administer the <keyword id="24209" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="vaccine">vaccine</keyword> is not progressing as it should," Biden said in Wilmington, Delaware. At the current rate, he said, "it's going to take years, not months, to vaccinate the American people."Shortly after Biden's remarks, Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado said his state had <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-first-case-new-uk-coronavirus-strain-more-infectious-colorado-2020-12">discovered the nation's first known case of the highly infectious coronavirus variant B.1.1.7</a>, which was originally documented in the UK. Scientists there believe the variant is more contagious than other previously identified strains of the novel coronavirus - but <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/covid-19-variant-doesnt-cause-more-severe-illness-major-study-2020-12">no more severe in the symptoms it causes</a>.It has been detected in several European countries as well as in Canada, Australia, India, South Korea, and Japan, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-coronavirus-variant-all-the-countries-where-its-been-identified-2020-12">among others</a>.Though experts believe newly approved COVID-19 vaccines will be effective against the variant, the apparent emergence of a more highly transmissible strain of the virus makes a swift rollout of immunizations all the more critical.Biden's goal of ensuring that 100 million vaccinations are administered by the end of his 100th day in office would mean "ramping up five to six times the current pace to 1 million shots a day," he said, noting that it would require Congress to approve additional funding.Even at such an ambitious rate, it would still take months for most Americans to be vaccinated, he said, adding that the situation might not improve until "well into March."Biden also said he planned to invoke the Defense Production Act, which grants the president emergency powers to order expanded industrial output of key materials or products on grounds of national security, to accelerate production of vaccine supplies.President <keyword id="6354484" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Donald-Trump">Donald Trump</keyword> has invoked the law during the pandemic.To reopen schools safely, Biden said Congress would need to provide funding for additional transportation, so students could maintain social distancing, and improve ventilation in school buildings.He also said Congress needed to fund more diagnostic testing and help pay for protective equipment for healthcare workers.Trump defended his administration's record after Biden concluded his remarks."It is up to the States to distribute the vaccines once brought to the designated areas by the Federal Government," he said <a href="https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/1344051613216993281">on Twitter</a>. "We have not only developed the vaccines, including putting up money to move the process along quickly, but gotten them to the states."Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-get-job-biden-administration-white-house-hiring-career-2020-11">Joe Biden is hiring about 4,000 political staffers to work in his administration. Here's how 3 experts say you can boost your chances of getting one of those jobs.</a>Trump, who contracted COVID-19 in October, has often played down the severity of the pandemic and overseen a response many health experts say was disorganized and cavalier and sometimes ignored the science behind disease transmission.To date, the respiratory virus has infected more than 19 million people and killed more than 334,000 in the US.One of the latest casualties of the pandemic was US Rep.-elect Luke Letlow, a Louisiana Republican, who <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/louisiana-congressman-elect-luke-letlow-has-died-from-covid-19-2020-12">died Tuesday of COVID-19</a>, his campaign said. Letlow, 41, announced on December 18 that he had tested positive for the virus.Dr. Atul Gawande, a member of Biden's COVID-19 advisory board, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/video/biden-adviser-dr-atul-gawande-talks-covid-19-vaccine-distribution/">told CBS News</a> the transition team still did not have all the information it needed to understand vaccine distribution bottlenecks.

Biden warns that it'd take years for Americans to be vaccinated at the current rate and says his target of 100 million doses in 100 days requires extra Congress funding

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Rep. Ron Wright has died from complications with <keyword id="8763838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="covid-19">COVID-19</keyword>, his office said on Monday.</li><li>Wright, 67, had cancer and is the first sitting member of <keyword id="1575" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Congress">Congress</keyword> to die of the disease.</li><li>The <keyword id="15710" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="texas">Texas</keyword> lawmaker was hospitalized with <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> two weeks ago along with his wife, Susan.</li></ul>Rep. Ron Wright, a Texas Republican, died from complications with COVID-19 on Sunday, according to his <a href="https://twitter.com/MikeHowardDC/status/1358810801805615107">office</a>. The two-term lawmaker contracted coronavirus and was hospitalized in Dallas over the past two weeks, along with his wife, Susan, who also tested positive for the disease."Congressman Wright will be remembered as a constitutional conservative. He was a statesman, not an ideologue," said a statement from his office on Monday. Wright was 67 years old and had cancer, for which he had been receiving treatment over the past few years."Despite years of painful, sometimes debilitating treatment for cancer, Ron never lacked the desire to get up and go to work, to motivate those around him, or to offer fatherly advice," the statement read. Wright is survived by his wife, as well as his son, daughter, nine grandchildren and extended family.Wright is the first sitting member of Congress to die of the illness. GOP Rep.-elect Luke Letlow <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/louisiana-congressman-elect-luke-letlow-has-died-from-covid-19-2020-12">died</a> of COVID-19 mere days before he was set to be sworn into office on January 3 to represent Louisiana's Fifth Congressional District. He was 41. "Heartbroken to lose my friend and colleague," top Republican Rep. Steve Scalise <a href="https://twitter.com/SteveScalise/status/1358821912877621256">tweeted</a> Monday of Wright's death. "Ron was a true fighter for freedom and healthcare innovation."Wright represented Texas' Sixth Congressional District, which includes parts of Fort Worth, since 2019 after former Rep. Joe Barton retired. Wright <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/11/03/us/elections/results-texas-house-district-6.html">won his reelection campaign</a> in 2020 with roughly 52% of the vote. He previously served on the Arlington City Council from 2000 to 2008, and then worked as a tax assessor-collector of Tarrant County from 2011 to 2018. The coronavirus has made its way around Capitol Hill since the start of the pandemic last year. Around 71 lawmakers have tested positive, according to <a href="https://www.govtrack.us/covid-19">GovTrack</a>. After the Capitol riot on January 6 when lawmakers were forced to shelter-in-place, at least <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/3-members-of-congress-test-positive-for-covid-after-insurrection-2021-1">four members</a> of Congress contracted the virus.In early October, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/org-chart-white-house-coronavirus-trump-inner-circle-2020-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">at least a dozen public officials</a> - including former President Donald Trump - became infected with the virus following Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett's nomination ceremony. The event, hosted in the White House Rose Garden, featured roughly 150 people, who sat close to each other without masks and even hugged and shook hands. Republican Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Mike Lee of Utah were among those who tested positive for coronavirus in what was described by Dr. Anthony Fauci <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fauci-white-house-outbreak-coronavirus-superspreader-event-2020-10">as a super-spreader event.</a>Since late December, when two COVID-19 vaccines became approved and available in the US, several lawmakers have <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/photos-show-us-lawmakers-receiving-coronavirus-vaccine-2020-12">received</a> the shots, which are administered in two separate doses. Health experts have <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lawmaker-contracts-coronavirus-after-second-vaccine-dose-2021-1">said</a> that it takes a few weeks for immunity to be fully developed after getting the vaccine, and that it's possible to contract the virus in between the shots.

Texas Rep. Ron Wright becomes first sitting member of Congress to die of COVID-19

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Lawmakers in the US House of Representatives may have been exposed to the novel <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> while they sheltered during Wednesday's insurrection at the US Capitol. </li><li>In a letter to lawmakers, Dr. Brian Monahan, the Capitol's attending physician, wrote that sheltering House members "may have been exposed to another occupant with coronavirus infection."</li><li>Some House lawmakers were captured on video refusing to wear a face mask while they took shelter when the pro-Trump mob stormed the building.</li></ul>Lawmakers in the US House of Representatives may have been exposed to COVID-19 while they were sheltering during the deadly insurrection on the US Capitol on Wednesday, the Capitol's attending physician <a href="https://twitter.com/JakeSherman/status/1348302344950312960">warned lawmakers in a letter Sunday</a>. Dr. Brian Monahan, the attending physician for members of Congress wrote that "many members of the House community were in protective isolation in room located in a large committee hearing space. The time in this room was several hours for some and briefer for others." Lawmakers were in session in both the House and Senate on Wednesday when <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-trump-in-final-weeks-incited-his-followers-to-storm-the-capitol-2021-1">a mob in support of President Donald Trump's baseless claims of widespread election fraud stormed the building</a>, overpowering Capitol Police officers. At least <a href="https://www.insider.com/three-died-of-medical-emergencies-at-capitol-siege-2021-1">five people died as a result of Wednesday's insurrection</a>, including a woman who was shot and killed by police during the riot. Three others died as a result of medical emergencies during the riot, and a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-capitol-police-officer-dies-after-attempted-insurrection-2021-1">Capitol Police officer died after sustaining injuries</a> during the insurrection. Read more:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tv-giants-comcast-att-face-pressure-over-right-wing-outlets-2021-1"> After US Capitol riots, cable giants face criticism for enabling the spread of misinformation</a>"During this time, individuals may have been exposed to another occupant with coronavirus infection," he continued, encouraging House members to maintain their "daily coronavirus risk reduction measures, like the wearing of masks and social distancing. Monahan also advised House lawmakers to get tested for COVID-19 next week "as a precaution." His comments come two days after Dr. Robert Redfield, the outgoing director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/robert-redfield-cdc-covid-19-surge-superspreader-event-capitol-riots-2021-1">the riot would likely be a COVID-19 "surge event"</a> with health consequences nationwide. Several lawmakers were seen in a video shared Friday by Punchbowl <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="news">News</keyword> refusing to wear face masks while lawmakers were sheltering in close quarters. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Punchbowl News (@PunchbowlNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1347604167355936772?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 8, 2021</a></blockquote>Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, Michael Cloud of Texas, Doug LaMalfa of California, were seen refusing to wear masks offered to them, as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/09/politics/republican-congress-members-refuse-masks-trnd/index.html">CNN</a> reported. While medical professionals for months have stressed that masks are essential to stem the spread of COVID-19, especially in indoor spaces, some Republicans since the outset of the pandemic <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chris-sununu-impeachment-gop-republicans-new-hampshire-mask-mandate-2020-11">have passionately opposed them</a>, flouting <keyword id="41551" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="science">science</keyword>.Rep. Susan Wild, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, said last week that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lawmakers-gathered-after-capitol-siege-about-half-refused-masks-2021-1">about half of the hundreds of lawmakers and staff who crowded into a secure location during the siege on the Capitol declined to wear masks</a>. She said she feared it would become a superspreader event.Dozens of members of Congress have previously tested positive and recovered from COVID-19, and in December Luke Letlow, a Republican who in November was elected to Congress in Louisiana, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/louisiana-congressman-elect-luke-letlow-has-died-from-covid-19-2020-12">died from the disease just a week before he was supposed to take office.</a>

You Searched For "letlow" and got 11 results

A Louisiana congresswoman whose husband died of COVID-19 is urging people to get vaccinated

Kelly McLaughlin

Louisiana Rep.-elect Luke Letlow died from COVID-19 complications shortly before his swearing-in. Now his wife is running in a special election to fill his seat.

Oma Seddiq

Rep-elect Julia Letlow, whose husband died from COVID-19, is urging Republicans to get vaccinated

Sarah Al-Arshani

Congressman-elect Luke Letlow who died of COVID-19 was an incoming champion for rural America and 'destined for big things,' friends say

Haven Orecchio-Egresitz

41-year-old Louisiana Congressman-elect Luke Letlow died from COVID-19 less than a week before he was set to take office

Sarah Al-Arshani

WATCH: A Florida representative was booed on the House Floor after calling Biden's spending bill 'Build Back Broke'

Katie Balevic

RESULTS: Louisianians voted to fill 2 US House vacancies in Saturday special elections

Grace Panetta

The Great GOP Migration: How South Florida became a shadow capital for Trump conservatives

Heather Hauswirth,Aaron Short

Biden warns that it'd take years for Americans to be vaccinated at the current rate and says his target of 100 million doses in 100 days requires extra Congress funding

Reuters,Samuel Horti

Texas Rep. Ron Wright becomes first sitting member of Congress to die of COVID-19

Oma Seddiq

The Capitol Hill physician is warning lawmakers they may have been exposed to COVID-19 during the siege on the building

Connor Perrett