Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, who found himself on President Trump’s revenge list for voting to convict him in his 2021 impeachment trial, lost his bid for a third term Saturday after placing third in the Republican primary.
Trump’s endorsed candidate Rep. Julia Letlow placed first, but fell short of the outright majority needed to avoid a runoff. She had earned 45% of the votes cast with 98% of ballots counted.
Ms. Letlow and Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming, who secured second with 28%, will face off again in the June 27 runoff election.
Mr. Cassidy earned 24% of the vote, despite the president calling him a “disloyal disaster” for his 2021 vote to convict him on impeachment charges of inciting an insurrection over the Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol.
U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Julia Letlow, …
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“Bill Cassidy is a sleazebag, a terrible guy, who is BAD FOR LOUISIANA. Now he’s going to get CLOBBERED, hopefully, in today’s BIG election, by two great people!!!” Mr. Trump posted on social media Saturday morning as Louisiana voters headed to the polls.
Mr. Cassidy referenced the attacks later Saturday in his concession speech but did not call out Mr. Trump by name.
“Insults only bother me if they come from somebody of character and integrity,” he said. “And I find that people of character and integrity don’t spend their time attacking people on the internet.”
Mr. Trump went back to social media for a victory lap Saturday night, saying Mr. Cassidy’s disloyalty to him after he helped get him reelected in 2020 “is now a part of legend.”
“It’s nice to see that his political career is OVER!” the president said. “I’d like to thank the Great People of the State of Louisiana, and this Big Victory will only make me work even harder for your success, and all that comes with it.
Mr. Trump also congratulated Ms. Letlow for “a fantastic race” beating an incumbent senator by record numbers.
Voters cast their ballots at the …
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“Julia Letlow is a fantastic person and, after taking care of some additional business, will make a brilliant Senator for the Great People of Louisiana,” he said.
Ms. Letlow credited the president’s support for her first-place finish on Saturday, saying her ability to earn 45% of the vote despite $26 million worth of attack ads spent against her is a “testament to the president’s endorsement, how powerful it is in Louisiana.”
“When he endorsed me in January, I knew this was going to be a tough race, but tonight Louisiana sent a clear message that they want a candidate to represent them in the Senate who will always put America first and never turn her back on Louisiana voters,” she said.
Mr. Cassidy said he reached out to Ms. Letlow and Mr. Fleming to congratulate them.
“This was not the result that I necessarily wanted, but I feel great,” he said. “I have been able to go across our state for the last six months in the battle of a campaign, meeting people across our state who care about our state, and I feel great for the privilege.”
The senator did not mention Mr. Trump by name in his speech but took several veiled shots at him.
“When you participate in democracy, sometimes it doesn’t turn out the way you wanted to,” Mr. Cassidy said. “But you don’t pout, you don’t whine, you don’t claim that the election was stolen, you don’t find a reason why, you don’t manufacture some excuse.”
“You thank the voters for the privilege of representing the state or the country for as long as you’ve had that privilege, and that’s what I’m doing right now,” he said.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., left, speaks …
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Mr. Cassidy also appeared to be referencing the president when he said, “Our country is not about one individual, it is about the welfare of all Americans.
“It is the welfare of my people and my state and my country and our Constitution to which I am loyal,” he said. “And if someone doesn’t understand that and attempts to control others through 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.”
The senator said leaders “should be steady, not erratic, thoughtful, not impulsive.”
With Mr. Cassidy out of the running, Ms. Letlow and Mr. Fleming will likely step up their attacks on one another.
Mr. Fleming, who previously served four terms in the House and was a founding member of the hard-right Freedom Caucus, told The Washington Times in an interview earlier this week that he has a far more conservative voting record than Ms. Letlow.
Ms. Letlow was first elected to Congress in a 2021 special election for a seat her husband won but could not fill because he died of COVID-19 complications a few days before he was to be sworn in.
After his time in the House, Mr. Fleming worked in various roles in the first Trump administration for all four years, finishing the term as the president’s deputy chief of staff.
He told The Times that he lost touch with Mr. Trump after leaving the White House and that the president’s endorsement of Ms. Letlow came as a result of a push from Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry.
Mr. Fleming said he had tried to talk to the president about the race before that but “was blocked at every turn, all the people surrounding him, his chief of staff, his deputy chief of staff.
“However, I had a subsequent conversation with President Trump after not being able to be in contact with him for months, and after we became reacquainted … he said, ‘Well, you’re fantastic. He said, Why didn’t you call me before?’”
