Sen. Cassidy knocked out of Louisiana Republican primary as Trump-backed
Letlow, Fleming make runoff
[May 18, 2026]
By THOMAS BEAUMONT, JACK BROOK and STEPHEN SMITH
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Sen. Bill Cassidy was decisively defeated in
Saturday’s Republican primary in Louisiana, unable to convince voters
that he deserved another term five years after voting to convict
President Donald Trump during an impeachment trial over the Jan. 6
attack on the U.S. Capitol.
He finished behind U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow, who capitalized on the power
of Trump's endorsement as the president continues purging his party of
people he views as disloyal, and John Fleming, the state treasurer.
Letlow and Fleming will compete in a runoff on June 27.
The result was the latest example of Trump's unrivaled power over the
Republican Party as he approaches the twilight of his second term with
persistent inflation, sagging approval ratings and dissatisfaction over
the war with Iran. Unlike some other senators who declined to run again
after crossing Trump, Cassidy pushed hard for reelection and spent
nearly double the combined amount of his opponents.
But none of that was enough for Cassidy to qualify for a runoff, let
alone win a third term.
“Our country is not about one individual,” he told supporters after his
loss. “It is about the welfare of all Americans, and it is about the
Constitution.”
Letlow, on the other hand, swiftly embraced Trump's central role when
she spoke at her victory party.
“I want to say thank you to a very special man who you all know, the
best president this country has ever had, President Donald Trump,” she
said while flanked by her two young children.
Asked about Cassidy's vote at the impeachment trial, Letlow called it “a
sign that he had turned his back on the Louisiana voters.”
Trump cheered the victory on social media, saying “that’s what you get
by voting to Impeach an innocent man.”
Trump has been purging his party
Trump unloaded on Cassidy the morning of the election, calling him “a
disloyal disaster” and “a terrible guy." Later that night, the senator
made a thinly veiled reference to the attacks.
“Insults only bother me if they come from somebody of character and
integrity, and I find that people of character and integrity don’t spend
their time attacking people on the internet,” Cassidy said.
The Louisiana primary comes in the middle of a month of campaigns by
Trump to exact retribution on politicians who have crossed him. On May 5
he helped dislodge five of seven Indiana state senators who rejected his
redistricting plan.
Next Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky will face a
Trump-backed challenger, Ed Gallrein, in another Republican primary.
Massie angered Trump by opposing his signature tax legislation over
concerns about the national debt, pushing for the release of the Jeffrey
Epstein files and opposing his decision to go to war with Iran.
After Cassidy's defeat, Trump wrote on social media that “Tom Massie, a
major Sleazebag, is even worse.” He encouraged voters to "get this LOSER
out of politics in Tuesday’s Election.”
It's a striking amount of intraparty turmoil as Republicans face the
possibility of losing control of Congress in November's midterm
elections.
The runoff between Letlow and Fleming, a former U.S. House member and
Trump administration official, will likely determine Louisiana's next
senator because of the state's Republican leanings.
On the Democratic side, Jamie Davis advanced to a runoff, but the second
spot remained too close to call between Nicholas Albares and Gary
Crockett.
Election changes stir concern
The election was scrambled by a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision
gutting a part of the Voting Rights Act that affects how congressional
maps are drawn. Although the Senate primary went forward, Louisiana
leaders decided to delay House primaries until a future date to allow
them to redo district lines ahead of time, a shift that raised the
possibility of confusion for voters on Saturday.
Cassidy also complained that a new primary system enacted last year
confused voters by requiring them to ask for a partisan ballot instead
of the all-party primary previously in place. He said some called his
office to say they had been unable to vote for him.
[to top of second column]
|
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., left, speaks to supporters alongside his
wife, Laura, during an election night watch party Saturday, May 16,
2026, in Baton Rouge, La. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
“The process that was set up was destined to be confusing,” Cassidy
told reporters Friday.
Dadrius Lanus, executive director of the state Democratic Party,
said his team fielded hundreds of calls from voters who said the
changes undermined their ability to vote as they planned.
“A lot of the information should have gotten to voters well in
advance,” Lanus said. “It’s literally been a whirlwind of
confusion.”
Incumbent senator tried to hang on
Cassidy waged an aggressive campaign to convince voters he should
not be counted out.
His campaign was expected to have spent roughly $9.6 million on
advertising through May 16, according to the ad-tracking firm
AdImpact. And Louisiana Freedom Fund, a super PAC supporting him,
was on track to spend $12.3 million.
By comparison Letlow’s campaign, which launched Jan. 20, spent
roughly $3.9 million, while a super PAC backing her, the
Accountability Project, spent about $6 million.
Fleming's campaign spent about $1.5 million.
Cassidy and Louisiana Freedom Fund ran ads attacking Letlow for
supporting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, which Trump
has tried to eliminate.
Letlow, a college administrator before her election to the House,
said she supported DEI while interviewing for the position of
president of University of Louisiana-Monroe in 2020.
Targeted by Trump
Cassidy's vote in favor of convicting the president after his 2021
impeachment has shadowed him since.
John Martin, a 68-year-old retired engineer in south Louisiana, said
he would vote for Letlow because he was still upset by Cassidy's
decision. He waved a campaign flyer showing her standing alongside
the president.
“I know a lot more about Cassidy than I do about her,” Martin said.
“But if she’s endorsed by Trump, I’m going to believe that.”
Cassidy steered clear of Trump’s ire last year, supporting Robert F.
Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services
despite his public reservations about the nominee’s anti-vaccine
views.
But as chair of the Senate health committee, Cassidy has been more
publicly critical of Kennedy, including over funding cuts for
vaccine development.
Trump also blamed Cassidy for the failed nomination of his second
choice for surgeon general, Casey Means, who raised doubts about
vaccinating newborns for hepatitis B, a practice Cassidy supports.
Trump withdrew the Means nomination and criticized the senator.
Letlow waited for Trump's backing
Letlow considered running for Senate last year but only entered the
race after Trump announced his endorsement in January.
By that time Fleming, who was elected treasurer in 2023, had already
jumped in and pitched himself as a Trump devotee. But Landry was
looking for a better-known challenger, and he suggested Letlow to
the president.
Letlow had an unconventional and tragic entry into politics.
In 2020, while she was a college administrator, her husband Luke was
elected to the U.S. House but died of COVID-19 before he could be
sworn in. Letlow ran for and won the seat in a March 2021 special
election and was reelected in 2022 and 2024.
___
Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
