Trump-Backed Primary Ouster of Bill Cassidy Sends Warning to GOP Dissenters
The Guardian reported Sunday that Senator Bill Cassidy, a two-term Louisiana Republican, was eliminated from his Senate primary Saturday. Two Trump-aligned challengers advanced to a runoff, ending Cassidy’s bid for a third term. The result was a direct consequence of Cassidy’s 2021 vote to convict Donald Trump following the January 6 Capitol insurrection.
Louisiana Primary Delivers a Crushing Verdict
With 98% of ballots counted, Representative Julia Letlow captured 45.2% of the vote. State Treasurer John Fleming, a former congressman, finished second with 28.3%. Cassidy trailed badly in third place, receiving just 24.4%. Neither Letlow nor Fleming crossed the 50% threshold required for an outright win. They will now face each other in a runoff on June 27 for the Republican nomination.
Trump amplified his attacks on Cassidy the morning of the primary. He called the senator “a disloyal disaster” and “a terrible guy” on social media, referring to the impeachment vote and predicting Cassidy would be “CLOBBERED.” He praised Letlow as someone who would never let voters down.
Background: A Senator Who Broke With His Party
Cassidy’s political vulnerability dates to early 2021. He was one of seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump at his second impeachment trial, and one of the few who continued pushing for an independent commission to investigate the January 6 attack. Louisiana’s Republican Party censured him shortly after that conviction vote. Most of his fellow Republican impeachment voters have since left the Senate.
In an apparent attempt to rebuild his standing with Trump, Cassidy cast a pivotal committee vote last year to advance vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. The move drew attention given Cassidy’s background as a physician and longtime champion of immunizations. Even so, he later criticized some of Kennedy’s policies as secretary.
Trump also blamed Cassidy for derailing the nomination of wellness influencer Casey Means as surgeon general, further deepening the rift.
A Pattern of Retribution Across the GOP
Louisiana’s result fits a broader pattern of Trump-era party discipline. Earlier in May, five Indiana state senators who blocked a Trump-backed redistricting effort lost their own primaries. In North Carolina, Senator Thom Tillis opted not to seek re-election after clashing with Trump over his domestic agenda, leaving Republicans to defend a competitive seat.
Louisiana’s primary rules also shifted against Cassidy. Governor Jeff Landry, a prominent Trump ally, helped change state law so that Senate nominations are now decided exclusively by Republican and unaffiliated voters, narrowing the electorate available to a candidate out of step with the base.
Read Next: What Senate Seat Battles in 2026 Mean for the Republican Majority
