Trump-Backed Rep. Letlow Launches Primary Bid Against Sen. Cassidy

Letlow’s primary challenge came after Trump pre-emptively endorsed her.

Rep. Julia Letlow (R-La.) speaks during an event in Washington on March 1, 2022. Samuel Corum/Getty Images

A congresswoman on Jan. 20 who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump said she is challenging a Republican senator who voted to convict Trump after he was impeached.

Rep. Julia Letlow (R-La.), 44, said during an event in Baton Rouge that she was running for a Senate seat held by Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), 68.

“It’s an honor to share with you, after the endorsement and encouragement from the president of the United States, Donald Trump, that I will officially be announcing my candidacy for the U.S. Senate,” Letlow said at a breakfast held by the Greater Baton Rouge Business Report.

Trump wrote on Truth Social on Jan. 17 that Letlow was a “great star” and a winner and that he was offering his endorsement for her in the Senate race should she enter.

“Run, Julia, Run!!!” Trump wrote in all caps.

Cassidy said in a statement to The Epoch Times that Letlow called him to say she was running.

“She said she respected me and that I had done a good job,” Cassidy said. “I will continue to do a good job when I win re-election. I am a conservative who wakes up every morning thinking about how to make Louisiana and the United States a better place to live.”

Letlow was elected to Congress in early 2021, after her husband, Luke Letlow, died after winning an election to represent Louisiana’s Fifth Congressional District, but before he was sworn into office. Letlow has won reelection twice since then.

Letlow joins a crowded Senate primary field that includes John Fleming, Louisiana’s treasurer, 74, and state Sen. Blake Miguez, 44.

Republicans have held both Senate seats representing Louisiana since 2015, when Cassidy defeated Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.). Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) holds the other seat after winning reelection in 2022 with 61.5 percent of the vote.

Cassidy has drawn some criticism from within the GOP for joining with mostly Democrats in a 2021 vote to convict Trump after the House of Representatives impeached the president.

Trump was not convicted. Fifty-seven senators voted to convict, short of the 67 required.

After Trump entered his second term, Cassidy, chairman of the Senate Health Committee, publicly debated whether to support Trump’s nominee for health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Cassidy eventually cast a decisive vote for Kennedy after saying he secured agreements from Kennedy, including that he would maintain a federal vaccine advisory panel without changes.

Kennedy later removed all members of the committee and selected replacements that Cassidy had described as unqualified.

Cassidy has been increasingly critical of Kennedy and his actions, including the recent overhaul of the childhood vaccine schedule.

“Changing the pediatric vaccine schedule based on no scientific input on safety risks and little transparency will cause unnecessary fear for patients and doctors, and will make America sicker,” Cassidy said on X on Jan. 5.

The primary in the race is scheduled for April 18. The general election is slated for Nov. 3.

Correction: A previous version of this article misstated how many votes are required to convict a president. The Epoch Times regrets the error.