Published: February 11, 2026
By: Courtney Bell, LSU Manship School News Service
BATON ROUGE–Julie Emerson was only 27 when she became the youngest Republican woman elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives.
Over the last two years, she emerged as one of Gov. Jeff Landry’s floor leaders, helping to push through ambitious proposals to flatten personal income tax rates, expand state funding for private school tuition and redesign how Louisiana holds some of its elections. On Tuesday, Landry brought Emerson, now 37, into his administration as his new chief of staff.
How did Emerson, who also was the first woman to chair a finance committee in the Legislature, accomplish so much at such a young age?
Lawmakers say she thinks big and sweats the details. She likes to talk things over with other lawmakers to try to get them on the same page. And though deeply conservative, she has been willing to reach out to Democrats to discuss their concerns.
“Julie’s a legislator that has just a very unique ability to bring legislation that is transformative to our state and actually see it all the way through to become law,” House Speaker Phillip DeVillier, R-Eunice, said in a recent interview.
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LSU Manship School Statehouse Bureau 
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