SouthernWorldwide.com – In a significant Republican primary victory, former President Donald Trump has seen his endorsed candidate, Rep. Julia Letlow, and Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming, outperform Senator Bill Cassidy in the Louisiana GOP primary for his re-election bid.
Cassidy, who voted to convict Trump in his impeachment trial five and a half years ago, was ousted by Republican voters. Letlow and Fleming secured the top two spots, according to The Associated Press.
With no candidate achieving over 50% of the vote, Letlow and Fleming will proceed to a runoff election next month to determine the Republican nominee. This marks the first time an elected Republican senator has lost renomination since Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana in 2012.
Although Trump was not on the ballot, the outcome is a clear win for him. The primary in the strongly Republican state served as the latest test of his endorsements in GOP nomination contests and demonstrated his continued strong influence over the Republican Party.
This Louisiana primary follows a similar pattern seen in Indiana’s primary a week and a half prior. In that election, Trump-backed challengers successfully unseated five incumbent Republican state senators who had previously partnered with Democrats to block the president’s proposed congressional redistricting plan in the GOP-controlled Midwestern state.
Letlow received Trump’s backing even before officially entering the race in January. Trump’s endorsement carried considerable weight in Louisiana, a state he won by a significant 22-point margin in the 2024 election.
“It’s the most powerful endorsement in the world,” Letlow stated, emphasizing that Louisiana Republicans are “huge fans of the president.”
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Republican Governor Jeff Landry of Louisiana, a staunch ally of Trump, also endorsed Letlow. This support further bolstered her campaign within the state.
Cassidy, after a comfortable re-election six years prior, was one of only seven Senate Republicans who voted to convict Trump in early 2021. This vote followed the House’s impeachment of Trump for his role in the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol, which aimed to disrupt the certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory. Trump was ultimately acquitted by the Senate.
However, since the beginning of Trump’s second term, Cassidy had generally supported the president’s agenda and his nominees. This included his vote to confirm Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Despite this, Kennedy and his “Make America Healthy Again” movement reportedly sought retribution. This animosity stemmed from Cassidy’s skepticism towards Kennedy’s proposals for reforming national health policies, including his efforts to reduce vaccine recommendations.
Allies of Kennedy also blamed Cassidy, who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, for the failure to bring the nomination of Casey Means, a close Kennedy associate and prominent MAHA advocate, to a committee vote, effectively derailing her potential appointment.
Meanwhile, Trump publicly criticized Cassidy, calling him a “very disloyal person.” On the eve of the primary, the former president took to social media to praise Letlow as a “Highly Respected America First Congresswoman.”
Cassidy, in his campaign, highlighted his two terms in the Senate and his efforts in delivering for Louisiana, a state that faces significant economic challenges. He also emphasized his support for the state’s substantial oil and gas industry, which employs approximately 15% of the state’s workforce.
Cassidy further promoted himself as “a conservative senator who delivers.” His campaign aimed to underscore his effectiveness and commitment to his constituents.
Financial disclosures reveal that Cassidy and a supporting super PAC invested over $20 million in advertising, according to AdImpact, a firm that tracks national ad spending. This expenditure exceeded the combined spending of Letlow and Fleming.
Some of these advertisements targeted Letlow’s past support for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs during her time at the University of Louisiana at Monroe. Cassidy argued that Republican voters were “concerned about her shifting position on DEI. She was all in for DEI.”
Letlow also faced scrutiny from her rivals regarding her failure to disclose over 200 personal stock and bond trades within the required 45-day reporting period for members of Congress. She attributed this to “a reporting error on my financial advisor’s part” and stated that it was promptly corrected and had not recurred.
Letlow dismissed the criticisms from Cassidy and Fleming concerning DEI and stock trading as “all baseless attacks, desperate attacks,” asserting their lack of merit.
Letlow first won her congressional seat in 2021. This followed the tragic death of her husband, Luke Letlow, just six days after he was sworn into the U.S. House of Representatives, having won the election for that seat in 2020.
Fleming, who served as a deputy chief of staff in the White House during Trump’s first term, positioned himself as the most conservative candidate in the Republican Senate primary. He contended that Letlow was “not the prototype for a Trump endorsement. She’s much more like a Democrat.”
The candidate who emerges victorious from the Republican runoff is widely expected to be the clear favorite in the general election, with the aim of retaining the Senate seat for the Republican Party.
