Louisiana GOP State Lawmaker Announces Run Against Incumbent U.S. Senator

Bill Cassidy, who was one of seven Republican senators voting to convict President Trump at his 2021 impeachment trial, is seeking another term.

Republican Louisiana state Rep. Julie Emerson has entered a competitive race to unseat U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy in the GOP primary election. Julie Emerson Campaign

Louisiana state Rep. Julie Emerson announced Monday that she will run against U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), becoming the latest challenger in the state’s first Republican primary in 50 years.

Multiple candidates have stepped forward to try to defeat Cassidy next year, as the second-term moderate senator still faces a party backlash from voting to convict President Donald Trump four years ago.

“There’s reason to believe the future can be brighter than the past,” Emerson, 37, said in a video posted on Oct. 27. “The light is returning, the future is calling, and I’m uniquely prepared to lead America toward it.”

At age 27, the small-business owner was the youngest Republican woman elected to the state’s legislature. She said she believes in cleaning up America’s food, bringing jobs and industry back home, building roads and bridges, a strong military, and making sure “the first flag on Mars is American, not Chinese.”

Cassidy, 68, a medical doctor who has been in office since 2015, has a complicated relationship with Trump.

He was one of seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump in 2021 after the president was accused by Democrats of allegedly “inciting insurrection.” In a press release at the time, Cassidy said he felt Trump was guilty and that the U.S. Constitution and the country were “more important than any one person.”

Trump had already left office when the impeachment trial was initiated by then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

Cassidy was censured by Louisiana’s Republican Party for his impeachment vote, but has achieved a moderate comeback with the state’s citizens.

A Morning Consult poll released in January showed Cassidy had a 69 percent approval rating among home-state Republicans. His opponents, however, are featuring his impeachment vote strongly in their campaign to unseat him.

Also, only 27 percent of Republicans in his state “strongly approved” of him in the poll, revealing some weakness with the party’s base voters.

Cassidy has outraised his opponents, collecting more than $2.6 million this year for his reelection bid, according to the Federal Election Commission.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) speaks during a hearing with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Capitol Hill in Washington on Sept. 4, 2025. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

Several other Republicans have entered the primary to defeat the incumbent, including Louisiana’s current State Treasurer, John Fleming, and State Sen. Blake Miguez.

Emerson is the second woman to announce her candidacy. The first woman to enter the race was Kathy Seiden, a St. Tammany Parish city councilwoman and a mother of four boys.