President Donald Trump’s drive for political revenge faces a key check Saturday in Louisiana, the place he’s trying to defeat Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy 5 years after Cassidy voted to convict him in his second impeachment.
Trump has backed Rep. Julia Letlow towards Cassidy, although a second challenger — Louisiana State Treasurer John Fleming — has run a spirited race and made it possible that no candidate receives a majority of the vote, which might set off a June 27 runoff.
It is an important time for Trump’s skill to point out he can unseat fellow Republicans who cross him. The Louisiana election comes three days earlier than Trump hopes to beat Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie in his primary, a race that has drawn extra consideration.
Trump reiterated his endorsement of Letlow in a social media put up Friday, saying he has “seen her tested at the highest and most difficult levels, and she is a TOTAL WINNER!”
Cassidy is among the few Republicans left in Congress who voted to convict Trump over his function in the January 6, 2021, assault on the US Capitol. He represents a solidly crimson state that backed Trump by 22 share factors in 2024.
More just lately, Cassidy – a doctor – has had stress with Trump as chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. While Cassidy voted to substantiate Trump’s well being secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., he has split with the administration on different components of its “Make America Healthy Again” agenda.
Last month, after Trump needed to pull his nominee for surgeon basic, Casey Means, the president blamed Cassidy and known as him “very disloyal.”
On the marketing campaign path, Cassidy has sought to painting the race as about “the present and the future” and has boasted about having working relationship with Trump regardless of the impeachment vote.
“I’m not claiming the president loves me — no — but you can work with people even if you don’t love each other if you’ve got a common goal,” Cassidy mentioned Friday on NCS’s “Situation Room.” “And my goal is to make my country and my state — and everybody who lives here — better off.”
Cassidy has lengthy had a big monetary benefit in the primary and used it to nearly completely assault Letlow, saying the race is hers to lose. He has targeted on her background in greater training and previous efforts to advertise variety, fairness and inclusion initiatives that at the moment are poisonous in the GOP.
Yet in the ultimate days of the primary, his two challengers have been battling each other.
Fleming, a former congressman who has been concerned in Louisiana politics for many years, has sought to painting himself as extra aligned with Trump than Letlow, particularly after working in the White House throughout Trump’s first time period.
Letlow’s marketing campaign has labeled Fleming a “Never Trumper” and, together with an out of doors group, focused him on a spread of different points, together with his work as a lobbyist earlier than he turned state treasurer.
Cassidy has been endorsed by Senate GOP leaders, as is customized for incumbents, although nationwide Republicans have in any other case stored their distance from the primary. Not solely is Trump backing Letlow, however so is the state’s Republican governor, Jeff Landry.
The election is happening underneath new and weird circumstances. Landry just lately postponed House primaries – however stored the Senate primary scheduled for Saturday – in response to a Supreme Court ruling on redistricting. The election is also the primary underneath a brand new closed primary system the place unaffiliated voters – a key bloc for Cassidy – must fill out additional paperwork in the event that they wish to take part in the GOP primary.
Cassidy’s marketing campaign supervisor, Katie Larkin, issued a press release Friday suggesting Landry was behind an “intentionally difficult process” for voters, saying, “The Governor closed the primary and continuously meddled in this election to support Julia Letlow.”
Landry’s workplace didn’t reply to a request for remark, however in a Fox Business interview Friday, he predicted Letlow would end first in the primary and took a shot at Cassidy and Fleming.
“She’s had two men that have just not been very southerly about the way they’ve treated her,” Landry mentioned.
While Trump’s political capital is on the road Saturday, the primary can be a check for allies of Kennedy, the well being secretary. A gaggle related to Kennedy’s agenda, MAHA PAC, has spent six figures opposing Cassidy and supporting Letlow, although different tremendous PACs have spent way more in the primary.