Cassidy loses Louisiana primary

Bill Cassidy’s defeat in Louisiana was not a close call at the end. The two-term Republican senator finished third in the state’s May 16 Senate primary, behind U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow and state Treasurer John Fleming, and failed to reach the runoff. The Associated Press projected that result Saturday night, and multiple outlets reported that Cassidy’s 2021 vote to convict Donald Trump in the impeachment trial after the Jan. 6 attack remained the central liability hanging over his campaign. The result leaves Letlow, who had Trump’s endorsement, and Fleming, a former congressman and former Trump administration official, to compete in a June 27 runoff. In a state where Republicans dominate statewide federal races, that runoff is now the contest to watch. (apnews.com) ### How did Cassidy lose an incumbent’s race this badly? Politico’s vote estimate with about 99% counted showed Letlow at 44.8%, Fleming at 28.3% and Cassidy at 24.8%. AP reported that Cassidy was unable to persuade Republican primary voters that he deserved another term five years after his vote to convict Trump. (nbcnews.com) Cassidy, 68, was one of seven Republican senators who voted in 2021 to convict Trump after the Capitol attack. NPR and NBC both tied his loss directly to that break with Trump, while AP said Louisiana Republicans had rejected his bid after years of backlash from pro-Trump voters. ### Why was the impeachment vote still the issue in 2026? (politico.com) Trump’s role in the race was explicit. He endorsed Letlow, and NBC projected that she would advance while Cassidy, who voted to convict him, would not. Politico reported that both Letlow and Fleming drew support from voters angry over Cassidy’s impeachment vote and, more recently, his skepticism about Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination as health secretary. (npr.org) Letlow made loyalty part of her case. CBS reported that she argued Louisiana “shouldn’t have to wonder how our senator will vote when the pressure’s on,” framing Cassidy as unreliable to Republican voters. ### Who are the two Republicans still standing? Julia Letlow is a three-term member of the House from north Louisiana, and Trump backed her in the Senate race. (nbcnews.com) Politico reported that Gov. Jeff Landry also endorsed her and that Make America Healthy Again PAC committed $1 million to support her campaign. (cbsnews.com) John Fleming is Louisiana’s state treasurer, a former House member and a former White House aide under Trump. Politico and ABC both described him as a strong second-place finisher who cut into Letlow’s lead late and now heads into the runoff as the other major pro-Trump option on the ballot. (politico.com) ### How unusual is it for a sitting senator to go out this way? Politico called Cassidy the first previously elected senator of either party to lose a primary since 2012. That detail matters because incumbents almost always survive renomination fights, especially in states their party controls. (politico.com) AP described the Louisiana result as a decisive defeat, not a narrow miss. Cassidy did not just lose the nomination outright; he failed to make the top two in a primary where no candidate cleared 50%. ### What happens next in Louisiana? June 27 is the next date in the race. (politico.com) ABC, NBC and other outlets reported that Letlow and Fleming will meet then in the Republican runoff after no candidate won a majority on May 16. Louisiana Republicans will choose between two candidates who both ran with closer ties to Trump than Cassidy did. (apnews.com) The winner of that June 27 runoff will become the party’s Senate nominee and, in a heavily Republican state, the likely favorite in the general election. That last point is an inference from Louisiana’s partisan lean and how national outlets framed the runoff as the decisive contest. (newsday.com) (abcnews.com)