Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) saw his reelection bid come to an end Saturday as Decision Desk HQ projected he would not advance to the runoff in Louisiana's Republican Senate primary. The outcome caps years of political fallout stemming from Cassidy's vote to convict President Trump following the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
Trump-endorsed Rep. Julia Letlow and state Treasurer John Fleming are projected to face off in a June 27 runoff after no candidate secured over 50% of the vote. The result marks a significant victory for Trump, who has made ousting Cassidy a priority among the few remaining GOP senators who broke with him after the Capitol riot.
Cassidy was one of seven Republican senators to vote to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial; only three of those still hold office. Trump has relentlessly targeted Cassidy, attacking him on the campaign trail and encouraging Letlow to enter the race earlier this year.
More recently, Trump blamed Cassidy for blocking the nomination of Casey Means as surgeon general, drawing criticism from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and allies of the Make America Health Again movement. Cassidy chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and is a physician.
Saturday's primary was Cassidy's toughest since winning the seat in 2014. Final polls showed a tight three-way contest, with some surveys indicating Cassidy risked missing the runoff entirely. The race was Louisiana's first under a new closed-primary system, which only allowed registered Republicans to vote. Cassidy opposed the change, and critics argued it hurt him by excluding independents and Democrats who might have supported him under the old jungle primary format.
Letlow, who first won her House seat in a 2021 special election after her husband Luke died of COVID-19 before taking office, centered her campaign on loyalty to Trump and attacked Cassidy over his impeachment vote. Fleming, a physician and former congressman, also competed aggressively for conservative voters aligned with Trump, having served in his administration as assistant secretary of Commerce and as a White House aide.
Cassidy did little to antagonize Trump directly. Asked Friday why Trump wants him out, Cassidy told CNN: “I can’t understand the president’s mind.” He added: “I’m not claiming the president loves me, no, but you can work with people even if you don’t love each other if you got a common goal. And my goal is to make my country and my state and everybody who lives here better off.”
Before polls closed, Trump called Cassidy a “disloyal disaster” on Truth Social, writing: “Bill Cassidy is a sleazebag, a terrible guy, who is BAD FOR LOUISIANA. Now he’s going to get CLOBBERED, hopefully, in today’s BIG election, by two great people!!!” Despite support from Senate Majority Leader John Thune and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Cassidy could not overcome Trump’s opposition.
The primary is the latest test of Trump’s grip on the GOP, echoing his successful push to unseat other incumbents who crossed him. For more on how Trump has targeted his party’s dissenters, see Trump’s earlier broadsides against Cassidy and Letlow’s challenge to Cassidy. The runoff will determine who faces the Democratic nominee in the general election.
