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Rep. Julia Letlow, endorsed by Donald Trump, is projected to be the top vote getter in the Louisiana Republican primary for U.S. Senate.Cassidy fell out of favor with Trump after being one of seven GOP senators who voted to convict him during his second impeachment trial.Trump has been actively endorsing challengers against Republican critics ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.President Donald Trump scored another victory May 16 in his quest to purge the Republican Party of critics and dissidents ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.Rep. Julia Letlow, the Trump-endorsed candidate, is projected to be the top vote getter in the Louisiana Republican primary for U.S. Senate, besting incumbent Sen. Bill Cassidy, according to Reuters and NBC News.Cassidy, a two-term senator, trailed Letlow and state Treasurer John Fleming for much of the GOP contest, according to the polls.Preliminary election results show Cassidy, a 68-year-old physician, coming in third place behind Fleming, a former Trump administration official from the president's first term. With over 90% of the Pelican State tally counted, Letlow was holding steady with about 44% of the vote versus Fleming's roughly 28% and Cassidy's approximately 25%.Under Louisiana law, if no candidate clears the 50% threshold the top two finishers run again in a June 27 runoff.Cassidy is the first GOP congressional incumbent facing Trump's notorious ire to outright lose their reelection bid this year. Others who've publicly criticized the president or opposed nominees and actions of his returning administration, such as Sens. Mitch McConnell, of Kentucky, and Thom Tillis, of North Carolina, have chosen retirement in 2026.Cassidy's record is highly rated among conservative-leaning groups but he fell out with Trump after being one of the seven GOP senators who voted to convict him during the second impeachment trial stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021 riot led by the president's supporters at the U.S. Capitol.He also had chastised administration officials, such as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., in public hearings and questioned the qualifications of Casey Means, the administration's pick for surgeon general who had to withdraw after being grilled over a lack of support for vaccines.Trump's so-called revenge tour across Republican primaries nationwide comes amid declining poll numbers with large swaths of voters outside of his coalition. Rising gas prices and an unpopular war in Iran have infuriated prominent MAGA figures online, but in terms of GOP elections, the president has been able to elbow out critics in Congress and disobedient legislators in red states.The president and his allies will now turn their attention to the May 19 primary election in Kentucky, where Rep. Thomas Massie — another GOP lawmaker running afoul in the White House's view — is trailing a Trump-backed primary challenger in a new survey released this past week.‘Disloyal disaster’: Trump blasted Cassidy as voters went to pollsTrump called out Cassidy again as Pelican State voters were flocking to the polls, further underscoring his commitment to dislodging GOP dissenters. He referred to the incumbent senator as a "sleazebag" and "terrible guy" who is bad for the state."Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana is a disloyal disaster," Trump said in the May 16 social media post.Cassidy was on Trump’s good side during his 2020 reelection bid and received the president’s endorsement. That turned for the worse, however, after the Louisiana Republican voted to convict Trump during his second impeachment trial.“I don’t really think President Trump likes me that much,” Cassidy told reporters last week. “But we work really well together.”
