Cassidy Is Out: Letlow and Fleming Will Meet in a June 27 Louisiana Senate Runoff

LAFAYETTE, La. — Louisiana Republicans will have one more choice to make before November. Julia Letlow and John Fleming advanced out of Saturday’s Republican Senate primary and will meet in a June 27 runoff after neither candidate secured the outright majority required under Louisiana’s new closed primary system.

Incumbent Sen. Bill Cassidy, who has held the seat since 2015, did not finish in the top two. His vote to convict former President Donald Trump during the 2021 impeachment trial, and Trump’s subsequent endorsement of Letlow, defined the race from the opening.

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What the Runoff Means for Louisiana Republicans

Letlow entered the race in January after Trump endorsed her publicly, with Gov. Jeff Landry adding his backing shortly after. She represents Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District, which covers the northeastern portion of the state. Fleming, Louisiana’s current State Treasurer and a former congressman who represented the 4th District from 2009 to 2017, consolidated support across rural Louisiana and ran on a hard-line conservative platform.

With Cassidy out, the runoff becomes a straight test of which candidate can best consolidate the anti-establishment Republican vote. Trump’s endorsement of Letlow will remain central to how that consolidation plays out heading into June 27.

How Louisiana’s New Primary System Changed the Race

Saturday marked the first time Louisiana has used a closed partisan primary for a U.S. Senate race since 2010. Under House Bill 17, signed by Gov. Landry in 2024, only registered Republicans and unaffiliated voters who chose to participate could cast ballots in Saturday’s GOP contest. The old jungle primary, which put all candidates on the same ballot regardless of party, is gone.

The result was catastrophic for Cassidy, whose loss is considered a referendum on his vote to convict Trump in the 2021 impeachment trial and subsequent lack of connection with Louisiana's Republican voters.

What Comes Next

The June 27 Republican primary runoff will determine the party’s nominee for the November 3 general election. Whoever wins the runoff will face the Democratic nominee and will be heavily favored in the general.