Louisiana's Republican Senate primary on Saturday will test the power of Donald Trump's endorsement, as incumbent Senator Bill Cassidy faces a tough challenge after voting to impeach the president in 2021. Cassidy, who would normally be a shoo-in for re-election in the deeply Republican state, has seen his prospects dim after Trump endorsed Representative Julia Letlow to run against him.
Cassidy drew Trump's ire by voting to convict him after the January 6 Capitol riot, and despite later casting a pivotal vote to confirm vaccine skeptic Robert F Kennedy Jr as health secretary, the president's endorsement of Letlow underscored his continued willingness to seek revenge against Republicans who cross him. An Emerson College poll last month showed Cassidy in third place among likely Republican voters, with Letlow and state treasurer John Fleming leading.
Political analysts say the primary is largely a referendum on Trump, and Cassidy's spurning by the president may be the 'death knell' for his Senate career. If he loses, he would join a growing list of Republicans whose careers have ended at Trump's hands, including five Indiana state senators who lost primaries after blocking a gerrymandering effort.
Cassidy, a gastroenterologist who co-founded a clinic for uninsured patients, has tried to mend ties with Trump but failed. His relationship soured after January 6, and he later called on Trump to end his 2024 bid after an indictment. Louisiana's Republican party censured him in 2021, and changes to the state's primary system, pushed by Trump ally Governor Jeff Landry, have further worsened his prospects by limiting primaries to party members and unaffiliated voters.
