Louisiana Republican voters eliminated incumbent Sen. Bill Cassidy from the Senate race on Saturday, with the three-term senator finishing third behind Rep. Julia Letlow and State Treasurer John Fleming. The two challengers will face each other in a June 27 runoff election, according to Associated Press projections.
The result represents a significant victory for former President Trump, who endorsed Letlow and actively campaigned against Cassidy. Trump had labeled Cassidy "very disloyal" after the senator became one of seven Republicans to vote for his conviction during the January 6 impeachment trial in 2021.
Letlow received nearly 45% of the vote while Fleming accumulated approximately 28%, leaving Cassidy in a distant third. The outcome marks the first time since 2012 that an elected Republican senator has failed to secure renomination, making Cassidy the latest casualty of Trump's ongoing campaign to reshape the GOP Senate caucus.
Cassidy had secured backing from Senate Majority Leader John Thune and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, but those endorsements proved insufficient against Trump's influence. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. endorsed Letlow after Cassidy, as chairman of the Senate HELP Committee, played a role in blocking Kennedy's surgeon general nomination.
In his concession speech, Cassidy made no mention of Trump but pointedly stated he would not make false claims about stolen elections. Letlow, for her part, called Trump's endorsement "the honor of a lifetime" and credited his support for her strong showing in the primary.
The June 27 runoff between Letlow and Fleming will determine who represents Louisiana in the Senate. Letlow enters as the frontrunner with Trump's backing, while Fleming will seek to consolidate support from voters who opposed both the incumbent and the Trump-endorsed candidate.