Republican Rep. Clay Higgins announced that he would not challenge Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana next year, but predicted an intraparty battle for the state’s U.S. Senate seat in 2026.
Mr. Cassidy has been the subject of significant scrutiny and speculation about a primary challenge because of his clashes with President Trump.
The two-term senator was one of seven Republicans to vote to convict Mr. Trump after his 2021 impeachment, and, more recently, he publicly struggled to support Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Mr. Higgins, Louisiana Republican, had flirted with the notion of running against Mr. Cassidy in 2026, but shut down the idea on Thursday. He said he had received private encouragement to run for the senator’s seat that is “surely to be strongly contested.”
The five-term House member said he is a better fit for the lower chamber because of his relationships with Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise, both also from Louisiana.
He also cited his closeness to Mr. Trump, his role in House Freedom Caucus leadership and his chairmanship over a House Oversight subcommittee.
“Now, it is my considered determination that, current engagement in the House being incredibly significant, it may be ultimately more beneficial to the Republic that I remain in service to the MAGA America First agenda as a senior Republican in the House of Representatives,” the lawmaker said.
Still, he said he thinks Mr. Cassidy’s days in the Senate were numbered, and that a “MAGA America First Republican candidate will emerge” to challenge him.
“There are several American Patriots of distinguished accomplishment who will vie for the United States Senate seat currently held by Dr. Bill Cassidy, whose service to our Nation within the Senate seems to have soon reached conclusion,” he said.
The Washington Times reached out to Mr. Cassidy for comment.
Mr. Higgins touted recent polls from the Republican-leaning Trafalgar Group that showed he would be the leading challenger in a hypothetical multi-candidate primary against Mr. Cassidy.
The latest report this month found that Mr. Higgins earned over 30% of support from voters in the Republican primary, compared to Mr. Cassidy’s roughly 23%.
Among those possible Louisiana Republican candidates were U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow, state Sen. Blake Miguez and state Treasurer John Fleming
Mr. Fleming, the only person among the group who has formally announced a primary challenge, served in the House from 2009 to 2017, was a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus, and served in Mr. Trump’s first administration.
The Trafalgar report found that Mr. Fleming was fourth in the pack in the hypothetical multi-candidate primary.
“A number of Republicans walked away from President Trump in the last year of his first term,” Mr. Fleming said during his announcement in December. “But those who turned their backs on him and America First were not committed to his fight to make America great.”
