After a Saturday Republican primary in Louisiana, Sen. Bill Cassidy failed to advance to a runoff, clearing the way for a contest between U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow and state Treasurer John Fleming on June 27. Cassidy, who sought another term, did not convince enough GOP voters that he merited a third bid, the Associated Press reported. The outcome capped a campaign season in which Trump-backed challengers have increasingly tested sitting Republicans’ loyalty.
Letlow finished ahead of Cassidy in the primary, the AP said, and Fleming also moved forward for the runoff. The AP’s reporting framed their advances as part of a broader pattern of Trump’s power over Republican politics, with endorsements functioning as a decisive force as the president continues to pressure party figures he views as disloyal.
Cassidy’s loss also reflected the political shadow of his impeachment vote. In the AP account, Cassidy’s decision as a senator to vote to convict President Donald Trump during an impeachment trial over the Jan. 6 attack came to define the campaign’s stakes. After the loss, Cassidy told supporters, “Our country is not about one individual,” and said, “It is about the welfare of all Americans, and it is about the Constitution.”
Letlow, by contrast, embraced Trump’s role during her victory party. In the AP account, she thanked “a very special man who you all know, the best president this country has ever had, President Donald Trump,” while standing with her two young children. When asked about Cassidy’s impeachment vote, Letlow called it “a sign that he had turned his back on the Louisiana voters.”
Trump reacted to the primary result on social media, the AP said, cheering the outcome and writing “that’s what you get by voting to Impeach an innocent man.” The reporting also described Trump’s broader campaign to punish Republicans he believes have crossed him, placing Louisiana’s primary in the middle of that drive.
The Associated Press said Cassidy had tried to defend his candidacy aggressively, including by spending far more than his opponents. Cassidy’s campaign was expected to spend about $9.6 million on advertising through May 16, according to AdImpact, and a super PAC supporting him, Louisiana Freedom Fund, was on track to spend about $12.3 million. By comparison, the AP reported that Letlow’s campaign had spent about $3.9 million, with a super PAC backing her, the Accountability Project, at roughly $6 million, while Fleming’s campaign spent about $1.5 million.
The AP also linked the election’s competitive environment to changes in Louisiana’s primary rules. The reporting said the Senate primary went forward after a U.S. Supreme Court decision gutted a part of the Voting Rights Act affecting how congressional maps are drawn, but Louisiana leaders delayed House primaries to allow district lines to be redrawn. Cassidy also complained that a new primary system adopted last year confused voters by requiring them to request a partisan ballot rather than using an all-party primary approach, and he said some people called his office saying they could not vote for him.
On the Democratic side, the AP reported that Jamie Davis advanced to a runoff, while the second spot remained too close to call between Nicholas Albares and Gary Crockett. In the Republican race, the runoff between Letlow and Fleming is expected to determine Louisiana’s next senator because of the state’s Republican tilt, according to the AP. The AP reported that Letlow entered the Senate race after Trump endorsed her in January, after considering a run earlier last year, while Fleming had already jumped in as treasurer and positioned himself as a Trump devotee.