Woody's world
Julie Letlow won in East Baton Rouge, but Woody Jenkins made sure it was a close call.
Julia Letlow may have cruised past John Fleming in the Republican Senate runoff, winning by nearly 14 points across the state, but it was a close call in East Baton Rouge Parish.
Why it matters: The impact of President Donald Trump and Gov. Jeff Landry isn't a slam dunk here, especially when it clashes with the view of Woody Jenkins and his hard-right Republican network.
By the numbers: The outcome, once the polls closed, was never in doubt. Letlow carried every EBR municipality, but none of the wins came easy.
- Her most decisive win was in Zachary, earning 60.5% of the vote.
- Central and St. George, the strongholds of influence for Jenkins and his EBR Republican Party, gave her only slight edges, 52.8% and 51.9%, respectively.
- Baton Rouge was a toss-up she narrowly won with 50.7%.
- Fleming's only clean win came in early voting, securing 52.1%.
Right on right crime: This was a case of all politics being local. Trump and Landry backed Letlow for political reasons; Jenkins sided with Fleming on ideological grounds.
- Jenkins and the local Republican Party branded Letlow a moderate in MAGA clothes, decrying her pro-DEI while she was at the University of Louisiana-Monroe.
- Trump and Landry were early to the Letlow endorsement party, and the President held a phone rally that drew 98,000 listeners to help the House Republican win.
- The wildcards were No Party voters, who decide whether to vote in the Democratic or Republican runoff, with political insiders speculating that they voted for Fleming on the theory that it would improve the runoff odds for Jamie Davis, the advancing Democrat.
The bottom line: Letlow won and is nearly a lock to win the final stage of Louisiana's new three-stage election trilogy, but East Baton Rouge Republicans made clear Trump's desires aren't absolute.
