A candidate supported by Trump has beaten a Republican senator who served two terms and voted to convict the president during his 2021 impeachment trial.
Congresswoman Julia Letlow is set to move on to a runoff next month, defeating incumbent Bill Cassidy, whom President Donald Trump had previously labeled a “disloyal disaster” in the high-profile race in Louisiana on Saturday.
State treasurer John Fleming, a fellow supporter of Trump, also moved on to the Republican primary for Louisiana’s Senate position.
The leading two contenders, Letlow and Fleming, will compete once more in late June since neither secured a clear majority. The winner of the runoff will subsequently challenge a Democratic candidate in the general election.
Cassidy, aged 68, was among the seven Republican senators in the Senate who cast votes for Trump’s conviction following his impeachment after the Capitol attack on January 6, 2021. The president was ultimately found not guilty when the Senate cast a vote of 57 to 43, which fell below the necessary two-thirds majority.
Among the seven Republicans who voted to convict him, only three remain in the Senate: Lisa Murkowski from Alaska, who endured a primary contest in 2022; Susan Collins from Maine; and Bill Cassidy.
While running for re-election, the Louisiana senator aimed to mend his difficult ties with Trump.
“I don’t believe President Trump has a strong personal affinity for me, but we collaborate very effectively,” Cassidy said to journalists last week, highlighting several bills he introduced that were eventually approved by the president.
However, Trump had made it evident that he wanted Cassidy to leave, and in January, he urged Letlow, 45, to run against the senator.
“I would like to express my gratitude to a remarkable individual – the greatest president this nation has ever known, President Donald Trump,” Letlow stated during a speech following the late-night results.
During his election night speech, Cassidy did not reference Trump directly. However, he hinted at the president and his incorrect assertions that the 2020 election was rigged.
When you take part in democracy, things don’t always go as you hope,” Cassidy said to his supporters in Baton Rouge. “But you don’t sulk. You don’t complain. You don’t say the election was taken away from you.
He stated that American leaders should not concentrate on loyalty to a single person, but instead prioritize the welfare of the broader population.
And if someone fails to grasp this and tries to dominate others by exploiting power structures, they are primarily looking out for their own interests,” he stated. “They are not focused on our well-being. And such an individual is unfit to hold a leadership position.
Trump celebrated the outcome on Truth Social, his online platform, stating, “It’s good to see that his political career is finished!”
“That’s the outcome of voting to remove an innocent individual from office,” the president stated in a separate post.
As the competition moves into a second round, it is still uncertain if Trump will continue to be actively involved in the campaign.
Letlow, who made history as the first Republican woman to be elected to represent Louisiana in Congress in 2021, received 45% of the vote in the primary, according to U.S. media outlets.
Inciting, her competitor in the June primary runoff, previously served as a representative for Louisiana in Congress and also held a position in the first Trump administration.
Fleming won against Cassidy by approximately 28% of the votes, while Cassidy received 25%, as reported by U.S. media.
“Yesterday, the residents of Louisiana demonstrated that a grassroots conservative candidate can still succeed and prevail, despite the political establishment and external dark money organizations spending millions of dollars to undermine him,” Fleming stated in a Sunday release.
Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc.Syndigate.info).
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