Sen. Cassidy knocked out of Louisiana Republican primary as Trump-backed Letlow, Fleming make runoff

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: AP

Updated 12:52 AM EDT, May 17, 2026


BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Sen. Bill Cassidy was decisively defeated in Saturday’s Republican primary in Louisiana, unable to convince voters that he deserved another term five years after voting to convict President Donald Trump during an impeachment trial over the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

He finished behind U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow, who capitalized on the power of Trump’s endorsement as the president continues purging his party of people he views as disloyal, and John Fleming, the state treasurer. Letlow and Fleming will compete in a runoff on June 27.

The result was the latest example of Trump’s unrivaled power over the Republican Party as he approaches the twilight of his second term with persistent inflation, sagging approval ratings and dissatisfaction over the war with Iran. Unlike some other senators who declined to run again after crossing Trump, Cassidy pushed hard for reelection and spent nearly double the combined amount of his opponents.

But none of that was enough for Cassidy to qualify for a runoff, let alone win a third term. “Our country is not about one individual,” he told supporters after his loss. “It is about the welfare of all Americans, and it is about the Constitution.”

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/louisiana-republican-senate-primary-2026-cassidy-letlow-1c8b927fd981c40cb4a538b0f89671dc

[not fooled]

1. WTF is wrong with some people?

I realize it's a tired, rhetorical question by now...but...after every disastrous consequence of krasnov's second installation, especially the illegal war and looting the treasury to give money to billionaires, his cult members STILL follow like lemmings???

[BumRushDaShow]

2. And Kennedy was always a sneering nasty SOB but apparently not enough.

It's hard when you still have to deal with an entrenched 25% of the population who are mindless zombies.

[Buddyzbuddy]

3. ? What happened with Kennedy?

[BumRushDaShow]

4. I used to see him in hearings

and he was awful.

It's a Louisiana thing and BOTH Senators have been horrid along with their slimy SOH.

(ETA - Kennedy is up in 2028)

[Buddyzbuddy]

36. Thank you, I agree that he is very slimy.

I thought maybe something happened with him that I missed. Fingers are crossed for '28.

[BumRushDaShow]

37. He, MAGat Mikie Johnson, and suck-up Steve Scalise

crawled out of their Louisiana swamps and threw Cassidy under the bus months ago.

[ananda]

5. Kennedy voted to impeach Trump early on.

Trump never forgave him.

[BumRushDaShow]

11. Cassidy did but Kennedy voted to acquit for both impeachment trials

But I only brought Kennedy up because he is the other LA Senator and is one who needs to go too (even more so)!

[ananda]

19. Sorry.

I guess I got them confused.

[BumRushDaShow]

21. It's the "dy" at the end!

(but both are from Louisiana)

[Hassin Bin Sober]

35. Kennedy is the fake Foghorn Leghorn persona (Oxford educated)

[ananda]

39. Thanks

[Skittles]

41. C U L T

yes, they WOULD drink the Kool-Aid

[Scruffy1]

6. About 400,000 total votes.

About 3,000,000 total voted in the 2024 presidential elections. To me this shows how vulnerable the Republican party really is. In 2024 presidential race only 60% of eligible voters in Louisiana voted. If the Louisiana Democratic Party could motivate some of the 40% that don't vote this seat could be in play. But they will probably move " to the middle " and get an ass kicking as usual.

[jgmiller]

23. This is always the problem and they rely on it

Voter apathy is real, people love to complain but then when they have to do something so simple as voting they don't do it. It used to be that people thought it was their duty to vote now they think it's a chore but they will happily waste hours scrolling on their phones or watching reality TV every day.

[GreenWave]

34. Sadly more Repugs showed up to vote

About 42,000 more, but if the Orange Menace has alienated the Cassidy voters where half do not vote R in Nov. the good guys could win.

[BradBo]

7. I bet Rep. Julia Letlow is a nasty piece of work.

[BattleRow]

31. Get low with Letlow...

[bluedigger]

8. He is free to vote his conscience, now, if he has one.

[ToxMarz]

9. One can hope. If he was Trump that's exactly what he would or more.

He would actually vote and act to fuck Trump any way he could at every possible moment. Go for it Senator! You don't have much time and you will be on the right side of history.

[OGBuzz]

10. Bill Cassidy, a physician, cast the deciding vote to approve RFK Jr. as Secretary of HHS.

Don't let the door hit you on the way out Billy.

[question everything]

22. I wondered about that. Thanks.

[Polybius]

12. A sitting Senator losing his or her primary is quite rare

The last time it happened was in 2012 when Richard Lugar of Indiana lost his primary. Technically, it happened in 2017 when Luther Strange lost to Roy Moore, but Strange was never elected Senator, he was appointed.

I predict that it will also happen on May 26th, when Senator John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton battle it out.

[paleotn]

15. And Paxton is so toxic, Talarico takes the seat.

Or TX stays true to form. They've done that before. What is it with hot places and fucked up politics? Merely a correlation or something more?

[Geechie]

33. our brains are boiled nt

[BumRushDaShow]

20. The bombshells of primarying incumbent Senators were in 2010

when Mike Lee took out Bob Bennett in UT.

Another that year was here in PA after Arlen Specter switched from (R) to (D) in 2009 but lost his 2010 primary as a (D) to Joe Sestak in 2010 (who lost the general to Pat Toomey (R)).

[mobeau69]

30. Lugar was an old school Republican. The kind you could tolerate if you had to. He was one of the first to be ran out DC

by the Tea party. He was never going to be magat material and probably would have voted to impeach. Sort of a Liz Cheney type. You know, the type that wasn’t big on traitors.

[PSPS]

13. Not surprising since MAGA now comprises 100% of the republican base

The question is can a MAGA loon win a statewide general election. Everyone can vote in that, not just the MAGA base.

[paleotn]

14. Swap one reprehensible excuse for a human for another.

Louisiana is a horror in so many ways. The coast is sinking while sea level rises. New Orleans is untenable. It will be swallowed by the Gulf perhaps in the twilight of my years. I may not live to see it but it will go under the waves. That's a mathematical certainty. It's gone. Their economy is a shambles. Opportunity is non existent. Crime and violence are rampant. If anywhere in America is a shithole, Louisiana is arguably the top of the list. A failed state propped up by Blue state prosperity. Turn off DC largess and they're a banana republic / anarchy state. Why shouldn't their politics be just as horrible?

[mountain grammy]

16. So sadly true

[paleotn]

17. Food is their only saving grace. I do love it.

[mountain grammy]

29. Oh yeah.

Not a bad meal in NO and pretty much anywhere in LA. We hit a Casino seafood buffet in Shreveport that was amazing 🤩.

[dsharp88]

38. And music...

Birthplace of jazz, funk, and, arguably, others

[mgardener]

18. I don't know what

Trump lickspittle, Elise Stefanik did to Trump, but he yanked her ambassadorship to the UN and endorsed someone else for the Gov race.
She is not running for re election.

MTG fared better then most Republicans.

[flvegan]

24. Not pedophile enough for MAGA, I guess. n/t

[dalton99a]

25. If this doctor had an ounce of decency, he would not have voted to confirm RFK Jr. as health secretary

[dem4decades]

26. For those of you who had a sliver of hope that the MAGA fever has broken, they're still all in.

[Timewas]

27. Apparently

there must be something in the water down there that keeps them stupid..........

[azureblue]

28. the concern is ---

the Dem primary turn out was 347,000 Dem votes vs 401,000 GOP votes. If La can't get the Dem turnout above 500,000 we will lose Louisiana. Because you know the GOP will cheat..

[Roy Rolling]

32. Racist Gerrymandering

These Bozo senators (with apologies to clowns) are elected in carefully crafted Republican districts.

Without racist Trump voters they can’t win. A wave of targeted minorities voters can end this.

Help us out, send some freedom riders. We can’t do it alone. Thanks for your attention to this matter. —RR

Red Beans and Ricely yours,

Non-racist Louisiana.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

40. MaddowBlog-Trump got his revenge against Cassidy, but will Cassidy get his revenge against Trump?

Interesting things happen when members lose primaries and suddenly have the opportunity to do as they please.

There’s been plenty of focus on Trump getting his revenge against Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy.

But I think the next question is whether Cassidy, with 230 days remaining in his term, might also get some revenge against Trump.
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-05-18T18:00:23.096Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/bill-cassidy-revenge-trump-primary

Looking ahead, however, the dynamic that’s worth appreciating isn’t just whether Trump got his revenge against Cassidy, but also whether Cassidy might yet get some revenge against Trump.

MS NOW’s report highlighted a notable quote from the senator’s concession speech:

“When you participate in democracy, sometimes it doesn’t turn out the way you want it to. But you don’t pout, you don’t whine, you don’t claim the election was stolen,” Cassidy said as applause from supporters overtook him in a speech after his loss.

In the same concession speech, the Louisiana Republican added, “Let me just set the record straight: Our country is not about one individual. It is about the welfare of all Americans, and it is about our Constitution. And if someone doesn’t understand that and attempts to control others by using the levers of power, they’re about serving themselves. They’re not about serving us. And that person is not qualified to be a leader.”....

For the past year and a half, Cassidy, desperate to keep his job and avoid becoming the first elected senator to lose a primary in more than a decade, has kept his head down, sticking to a partisan script and avoiding confrontations with the White House.

But the Louisianan’s term doesn’t end for another 230 days.

It’s possible, of course, that Cassidy, who’s been a conservative throughout his two-decade career in elected office, will keep voting as he’s been voting and will just coast through the next six months in relative obscurity. But it’s also possible that the senator — who chairs a powerful committee — will build on the kinds of sentiments he shared in his concession speech and become a real thorn in the side of the president who ended his career.

When we think about the kinds of GOP senators who are occasionally willing to show some hints of independent thinking, we tend to focus on members such as Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski, Kentucky’s Rand Paul and Maine’s Susan Collins. Since Trump returned to power, few have seen Cassidy as part of this contingent. Don’t be surprised if that soon changes.