Consistent. Conservative. Reliable.
Julie Emerson was born in Louisiana and raised in Carencro. She was first elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives in 2015 (defeating an incumbent Democrat 51%-49%), re-elected in 2019 with 70% of the vote, and re-elected in 2023 for her third and final term with 72% of the vote. During her first term, she was the youngest member of the Louisiana legislature and the youngest Republican woman ever elected.
She currently serves as the Chairman of the House Committee on Ways & Means, and is the first woman to chair a finance committee in Louisiana legislative history. She has previously served on the following committees during her legislative tenure: Civil Law, Appropriations, Education, Health & Welfare, Retirement, and Agriculture. She is a member of the Acadiana Delegation, the Women’s Caucus, and the Republican Delegation.
Julie has been consistently known as a rock solid conservative always working to protect innocent life, conservative budgeting, lower taxes, our 2nd Amendment rights, and parental choice in education. In 2021, she successfully passed Louisiana’s abortion restriction law (SB342) through the House of Representatives. In 2024, she authored and passed HB17 establishing Louisiana’s party primary system and authored (HB745) and passed (SB313) Louisiana’s GATOR scholarship program establishing universal school choice in Louisiana.
She has been named a “Most Valuable Policymaker” or “All-Star” by the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry and a “Guardian of Small Business” by NFIB every year she has served in the legislature. She has maintained a 100% lifetime rating with Louisiana Right to Life, an A+ with the National Rifle Association, and been named a “Family Advocate” and received a “Life & Liberty” award from the Louisiana Family Forum. Julie was also named “Legislator of the Year” by the Louisiana Fraternal Order of Police and by the Louisiana Fire Chiefs Association.
Julie graduated from Westminster Christian Academy in Opelousas, University of Louisiana at Lafayette (Bachelor of Science), and the University of South Carolina (MBA). In 2011, she founded Lagniappe Communications Group, a public relations and media strategy firm.
She serves on the board of directors for the National Foundation for Women Legislators (2017-current), board of directors of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (2013-current), Dean’s Advisory Council (DAC) for the College of Engineering at UL-Lafayette (2021-current), and on the Republican State Central Committee, District 24C (2012-current). In 2016, Julie helped elect Congressman Clay Higgins (LA-3) and was appointed Chairman of his transition team, and in 2023, managed the successful election of Louisiana Secretary of State Nancy Landry. She is a member at First Baptist Church, Lafayette.