Louisianans are voting Saturday in the Republican Senate runoff between Rep. Julia Letlow and state Treasurer John Fleming to replace Sen. Bill Cassidy.
In the May 16 primary no candidate won a majority: Letlow finished first with 45% and Fleming had 28%, sending them to the runoff, while Cassidy finished third and failed to qualify.
President Donald Trump endorsed Letlow and urged supporters to back her during a tele-rally, calling her a "fearless champion," and earlier encouraged her to challenge Cassidy, whom he labeled a "disloyal disaster."
President Donald Trump made a final appeal Friday to Louisiana Republicans to support Rep. Julia Letlow, calling her a "Great Star" and a "TOTAL WINNER" in one of this year’s most closely watched GOP primaries.
Letlow has represented Louisiana in the House since 2021 and became the first Republican woman from the state elected to Congress; Fleming served in the House from 2009 to 2017 and worked in the first Trump administration.
Some Louisiana Republicans say low turnout could make the runoff unpredictable. "I believe that she's going to win," said Lionel Rainey III, "But I think it’s going to be much, much closer than anybody expects and I would not be shocked if [Fleming] somehow edged this thing out."
Letlow pledged to support Trump’s "America First" agenda and backed the SAVE America Act; she said, "I am the only candidate in this race who agrees with President Trump that the Senate should nuke the filibuster in order to pass the SAVE America Act." Fleming said he would be open to eliminating the filibuster: "I’m willing to do whatever — reconciliation, the talking filibuster, even kill the filibuster altogether — whatever is necessary," he said.
Rep. Clay Higgins endorsed Letlow after Fleming shared an AI-generated video featuring a deepfake of Letlow; Fleming said his campaign had not created AI videos, added that "parody ads are OK," and deleted the social media post.
The winner of the runoff is likely to be on a glidepath to the Senate, CBS News said, noting that Louisiana is a solidly red state where Mr. Trump won 60% of the vote in 2024 and that the state last elected a Democrat to the Senate in 2008.