Sen. Bill Cassidy, a two-term Republican from Louisiana who was one of seven GOP senators to vote to convict former President Donald Trump after the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, lost his bid for reelection in Louisiana’s Senate primary.
The result, reported by the Associated Press, left Cassidy third in a three-way race. Representative Julia Letlow, whom Trump recruited and publicly endorsed, and state Treasurer John Fleming will move on to a runoff scheduled for June 27.
Trump used his platform to press the case against Cassidy, calling the senator’s vote “disloyal” and celebrating the apparent end of his political career. Cassidy, conceding on primary night, said he would not sulk or claim the election had been stolen. “You don’t pout, you don’t whine, you don’t claim that the election was stolen,” he told supporters, saying he was grateful for the opportunity to serve and would accept voters’ judgment.
Cassidy emphasized that voters should weigh candidates on current and future issues rather than re-litigating the 2020 election. Still, for many GOP primary voters in Louisiana, his decision to vote to convict Trump amounted to a betrayal, and the former president’s endorsement of Letlow carried significant weight.
The primary highlighted the influence of Trump’s endorsements in GOP contests. Cassidy’s defeat marks the first time a Republican senator has been unseated with Trump’s active backing against him, though Trump has previously targeted other Republicans who broke with him after January 6 or on other matters. Notable examples include former Representatives Liz Cheney, who lost her reelection bid, and Marjorie Taylor Greene, who left Congress.
Across the Senate GOP cohort that voted to convict, four of the seven senators chose to retire rather than seek another term. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine is up for reelection this year but is not facing a primary challenge, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska won reelection in 2022 after benefiting from her state’s nonpartisan primary system.
In Louisiana this cycle, Republican Governor Jeff Landry acted to close the state’s traditionally open primary system, a change that prevented Democrats from participating in the Republican primary and likely amplified the influence of Republican primary voters.
What the Louisiana primary also revealed is what many GOP primary voters are prioritizing: loyalty to Trump and alignment with his agenda. Letlow, a former college administrator who won a 2021 special congressional election after her husband’s death, ran to Letlow’s advantage as a relatively new, pro-Trump figure. Cassidy, a physician by training who chaired the Senate Health Committee and touted bringing billions in federal dollars to Louisiana—including work on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law—tried to highlight his record of delivering for the state.
Cassidy sought to counter his critics by noting he had continued to work with Trump’s agenda in many areas even after the impeachment vote. He also criticized what he described as efforts to use power for personal control and framed his position as defending the Constitution and the public welfare.
Since the impeachment vote, Cassidy drew some controversy for supporting Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination to run the Department of Health and Human Services, despite publicly voicing reservations about Kennedy’s vaccine skepticism. Now freed from an immediate reelection campaign, Cassidy could become a more outspoken critic of Trump, much as other Republicans who fell out with the former president have done.
Observers are watching other primary contests for signs of how durable Trump’s sway remains. The next notable test was set for a Kentucky primary where Rep. Thomas Massie, who has clashed with Trump at times, faced a Trump-endorsed challenger.
For now, Louisiana’s result is a clear demonstration that, in Republican primaries in some states, Trump’s endorsement and the question of loyalty to him remain decisive factors. Letlow and Fleming will compete in the runoff to determine who will challenge the Democratic or other party nominees in the general election.