Senator Bill Cassidy two-decade career in public office ends after losing primary following tension with President Donald Trump.
According to NBC News, Cassidy on Saturday, May 16, failed to advance in the Republican primary in Louisiana, as Trump-backed Rep. Julia Letlow and state Treasurer John Fleming are projected to face off in a June 27 runoff.
The winner in the GOP contest will be the heavy favorite this fall in ruby-red Louisiana.
The result marks another trophy for Trump’s collection in his ongoing bid to oust Republicans perceived as disloyal to him.
Cassidy’s bid to win the Republican party’s nomination for a third term in the deep-red state was imperiled by his decision to vote in favor of Trump’s conviction after the January 6 insurrection.
Cassidy said in a brief statement after the vote, “Our Constitution and our country is more important than any one person. I voted to convict President Trump because he is guilty.”
Cassidy’s vote to convict Trump came just a few months after the senator handily won re-election to his second six-year term. He was first elected to the Senate in the 2014 red wave, ousting Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu.
Before that, he served in the House for six years and the Louisiana state Senate for about two years.
