Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana late on Saturday took a couple of jabs at President Donald Trump after the president’s preferred candidates won the state’s primary, unseating Cassidy after his term ends.
Cassidy has held his seat since 2015, winning re-election in the 2020 election. He was one of the seven Republican senators to vote in favor of convicting Trump during his second impeachment trial, which took many by surprise. Trump backed Cassidy’s challenger, Representative Julia Letlow, who now advances to a primary runoff against state Treasurer John Fleming.
When Cassidy addressed his supporters following confirmation that he came third in the primary, his comments contained thinly-veiled references to the president.
“When you participate in democracy, sometimes it doesn’t turn out the way you want it to, but you don’t pout, you don’t whine, you don’t claim the election was stolen,” Cassidy said, which drew strong applause from his supporters. “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.”
Separately, he said: “I’m also asked whether I’m bothered by being attacked on the internet. Insults only bother me if they come from someone with character and integrity, and I find that people with character and integrity don’t spend their time attacking people on the internet.”
And later, he added, “Our country is not about one individual. It is about the welfare of all Americans and it is about our Constitution, 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.”
Louisiana GOP Primary Election Results
Polling before the race had shown a close contest. With 99 percent of the votes counted, Letlow won 44.8 percent of the vote, Fleming 28.3 percent, beating Cassidy who got 24.8 percent, according to The Associated Press. Mark Spencer was fourth with 2.1 percent.
Trump said it was “nice to see” the incumbent lose and declared Cassidy’s political career effectively over after his loss.
After the results came in, Letlow thanked Trump as “the best president this country has ever had,” adding that voters had sent “a clear message” that they want an “America First” candidate who will not “turn her back on Louisiana voters.”
“Louisiana made it clear tonight: we are ready for strong conservative leadership that will stand with President Trump and never waver,” she wrote on X.
Which Republicans Voted to Convict Donald Trump
Trump’s second impeachment trial resulted in 57 senators voting to convict him, which fell short of the 60 votes needed for a guilty verdict.
However, that number was higher than anticipated, due to seven Republicans joining their Democrat and Independent colleagues. Most of those Republicans are no longer in the Senate, with Cassidy marking the fifth confirmed exit – and it’s not entirely certain the remaining two will be safe.
According to the New York Times, the other four senators chose not to seek reelection when their terms ended, avoiding the kind of costly loss Cassidy just suffered.
The senators who voted to convict trump included:
- Bill Cassidy of Louisiana (active, but departing)
- Susan Collins of Maine (active)
- Lisa Murkowski of Alaska (active)
- Richard Burr of North Carolina (did not seek reelection in 2022)
- Patrick Toomey of Pennsylvania (did not seek reelection in 2022)
- Ben Sasse of Nebraska (exited Senate in 2023)
- Mitt Romney of Utah (did not seek reelection in 2024)
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