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Washington — Rep. Julia Letlow won the Republican primary runoff for Senate in Louisiana, the Associated Press projected Saturday, defeating Louisiana state Treasurer John Fleming to replace Sen. Bill Cassidy, who did not receive enough votes in the primary to advance.
The contest went to a runoff after no candidate secured 50% of the vote in last month’s primary, where incumbent Sen. Bill Cassidy was eliminated.
President Trump encouraged Letlow to challenge Cassidy for the seat earlier this year, after Cassidy had occasionally clashed with the administration, most notably with his vote to convict Mr. Trump in his impeachment trial after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol in 2021. Ahead of the primary, Mr. Trump called Cassidy a “disloyal disaster” and endorsed Letlow, whom he called a “winner who will NEVER let you down.”
“Great News!!! Julia Letlow WON in Louisiana, beating conclusively a very strong and smart opponent. Congratulations to Julia. She will be a truly GREAT Senator!” Mr. Trump said in a Truth Social post Saturday night.
Letlow has represented Louisiana in the House since 2021, when she became the first Republican woman from the state to be elected to Congress. She won the special election for Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District following the death of her husband, who died in 2020 from complications related to COVID-19 before he could be sworn into office.
The 45-year-old has touted her endorsement from Mr. Trump in the race and pledged to support his agenda in the Senate. She cast Fleming, who worked in the first Trump administration and also represented Louisiana in the House, as a career politician out of step with Louisianans. And earlier in the primary, she hammered Cassidy as disloyal to the GOP, claiming Louisiana “shouldn’t have to wonder how our senator will vote when the pressure’s on.”
Cassidy had also been at odds with the administration over HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s leadership, despite delivering the key vote to advance Kennedy’s nomination last year. Since losing his primary, the Louisiana Republican has appeared more willing to break with the White House, and sparred with the president at a Senate Republican lunch meeting in recent days.
With Saturday’s runoff victory, Letlow is likely on a glidepath to the Senate. Louisiana is a solidly red state where Mr. Trump won 60% of the vote in 2024. The state last elected a Democrat to the Senate in 2008.
