Bill Cassidy is among seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump after the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
Bill Cassidy, one of the few Republicans who voted to convict President Donald Trump after the January 6 Capitol attack, lost Louisiana’s Republican Senate primary on Saturday. (Al Jazeera)
Cassidy finished third behind Trump-backed Representative Julia Letlow and Louisiana State Treasurer John Fleming, who will now face each other in a runoff election on June 27. (Reuters)
The race became a major test of Trump’s influence inside the Republican Party. Trump had repeatedly attacked Cassidy over his 2021 impeachment vote and endorsed Letlow earlier this year. After the results, Trump celebrated the defeat on social media, calling Cassidy’s political career “OVER.” (2026/2027 Mabumbe)
Cassidy had tried to rebuild support among Republican voters by backing parts of Trump’s agenda and emphasizing his legislative record, but many GOP voters in Louisiana continued to view his impeachment vote as disloyalty. (AP News)
The loss is being seen as another sign of Trump’s continued dominance in Republican primaries, especially against Republicans who openly opposed him after the Capitol riot. (The Guardian)
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US Senator Bill Cassidy has lost Louisiana’s Republican primary after facing years of backlash from Donald Trump supporters over his vote to convict the president during Trump’s 2021 impeachment trial tied to the January 6 Capitol attack.
Cassidy failed to gain enough support in Saturday’s vote to advance to the runoff election, finishing behind Representative Julia Letlow and State Treasurer John Fleming. Letlow and Fleming will now compete in a second round of voting scheduled for June 27.
The result underscored Donald Trump’s strong hold over the Republican Party as he continues targeting figures considered disloyal, even while facing increasing political pressure over inflation, slipping approval ratings and criticism surrounding the US-Israeli war on Iran.
Cassidy was one of seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump after the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, when Trump supporters attempted to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Unlike several Republicans who distanced themselves from Trump and chose not to run again, Cassidy pushed hard for a third six-year term and spent far more than his competitors during the campaign.
On the day of the primary, Trump took aim at Cassidy on social media, calling him “a disloyal disaster” and “a terrible guy”. Following his loss, Cassidy appeared to fire back indirectly, telling supporters: “Insults only bother me if they come from somebody of character and integrity.”
During her victory speech, Letlow praised Trump’s support, calling him “the best president this country has ever had” and thanking him for backing her campaign.
She later said Cassidy’s impeachment vote proved he had “turned his back on Louisiana voters”. Trump also reacted to Cassidy’s defeat on social media, writing: “That’s what you get by voting to impeach an innocent man.”
The Louisiana contest adds to a growing list of Republican primaries where Trump has backed efforts to unseat party members who opposed him. Earlier this month, several Republican lawmakers in Indiana lost their races after rejecting a Trump-supported redistricting proposal aimed at increasing Republican representation in Congress.