Sen. Bill Cassidy Defeated in Louisiana Primary By Trump Endorsed Challenger

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) was defeated in Louisiana's primary election on Saturday. Several major outlets, like The New York Times (Lean Left bias) and Fox News (Right), framed the news as a victory for Trump. 

Wrong Priorities: The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board (Lean Right) noted that Trump's approval rating is only at 40% and criticized him, arguing his "revenge campaign has already made the Senate harder to hold." The Board said he "drove incumbent Thom Tillis into retirement in North Carolina, and Democrats have a strong candidate who is now the favorite." It also noted that he said Sen. Susan Collins should "never be elected to office again" in Maine, which is a blue state, and has refused to endorse Sen. John Cornyn in the Texas primary, despite Republican pleas to do so. The Journal concluded Republicans could drop to 49 Senate seats, and Trump would spend the last two years of his presidency as a lame duck.

Cassidy's Revenge: Steve Benen of MS NOW (Left) noted that "almost all" 17 Republican lawmakers who voted to impeach Trump in 2021 have been ousted from power. Benen argued that in his final six months in power, Cassidy could "keep voting as he's been voting and will just coast through the next six months in relative obscurity" or "become a real thorn in the side of the president who ended his career."

The Details: Cassidy was defeated by the Trump-backed Rep. Julia Letlow and Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming, who received 45% and 28% of the vote, respectively. Cassidy received under 25%, eliminating him from the race, which will head to a runoff. He is the first elected Republican senator to lose renomination since 2012. 

For Context: In 2021, Cassidy voted to convict Trump on an article of impeachment with insurrection charges. Previously, Louisiana's election system was an open primary, though the state's Republican leadership recently changed the format to a closed primary. Cassidy had traditionally received support from independents and Democrats.

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