Cassidy faces tough Senate primary challenge in Louisiana

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), long targeted by President Trump, is in the fight of his political life.

Trump-endorsed Rep. Julia Letlow (R-La.) and state Treasurer John Fleming (R) have their sights set on toppling Cassidy, who voted to convict the president during his second impeachment and has clashed with Trump’s Health and Human Services secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Saturday’s primary in Louisiana presents another test of influence for Trump after multiple candidates backed by the president won their primaries for state Senate in Indiana earlier this month, ousting incumbents who had voted against a Trump-backed redistricting plan. 

“Trump’s definitely on the ballot. There’s no doubt about it. And it’s having an effect on every candidate,” said Pearson Cross, a political science professor at the University of Louisiana.

“[Of] course, it’s having a bad effect, potentially, on Cassidy, a good effect on Letlow, and it’s unclear with Fleming,” Cross said. 

Cassidy was one of seven Republicans who voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial following the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. He explained in a column at the time that he did so because the president was “guilty” of inciting rioters at the Capitol and “actively subverting the peaceful transfer of power,” but he took heat from Trump and was censured by his state party over the vote.

The two-term Senate Republican has sought to stress his alignment with Trump on issues like healthcare affordability and his efforts to help advance the president’s other priorities, key points in a state that voted overwhelmingly for Trump in 2024. 

Still, his impeachment vote has haunted his reelection bid, putting extra scrutiny on Cassidy’s moves in the upper chamber. 

The senator publicly wavered over whether to support Kennedy as Trump’s pick for Health and Human Services secretary, before ultimately casting the deciding vote last year.

And last month, Trump blamed Cassidy for having to withdraw his controversial nominee for surgeon general, Casey Means, after her nomination stalled in the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, which Cassidy chairs.

“For months, Senator Bill Cassidy (of the........

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