Trump-backed Letlow wins Louisiana Senate runoff after Cassidy's defeat
Representative Julia Letlow won the Republican runoff for Louisiana’s U.S. Senate seat on June 24, defeating state Treasurer John Fleming. With both candidates Republicans, the runoff effectively decided the GOP nominee; Letlow now faces Democrat Jamie Davis in November and is favored given the state’s lean.
The result completes the removal of two-term incumbent Bill Cassidy, who finished third in the first round and did not advance to the runoff. Cassidy was one of seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump at his 2021 impeachment trial over the January 6 attack, and Trump endorsed Letlow and campaigned against the incumbent.
Cassidy is the latest of those seven to leave the Senate, most having retired or lost primaries rather than face Trump-aligned challengers. His defeat removes a Republican who had at times broken with the administration — including on health policy as chair of the Senate health committee — and signals the continued cost, within the party, of the impeachment vote.