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◆ Mixed look for TrumpVoting RightsElections / Campaigns

Cassidy loses Louisiana Senate GOP primary as Trump-backed challenger advances to runoff

Trump backed Letlow and repeatedly attacked Cassidy over his impeachment vote.

Cassidy loses Louisiana Senate GOP primary as Trump-backed challenger advances to runoff
Image · Yahoo News

SOURCE CHECK

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Host credibilityYahoo News76/100 HIGH
This article1 analysis · Oct 6, 2026

Credibility rates Yahoo News, which republished this story. The other scores rate the article itself.

Republished with credit

Republished from The Hill, with credit to the original publisher.

The Hill78/100 HIGH

272 stories · 78–79 · updated Oct 7, 2026

This is The Hill's own score, and this article is credited to The Hill. The host score in the Source Check is Yahoo News's.

Yahoo Newsvia The Hill
May 17, 2026
tl;dr

Bill Cassidy was projected to miss the runoff in Louisiana’s Republican Senate primary, ending his reelection bid. Julia Letlow and John Fleming advanced to a June 27 runoff, in a race shaped by Donald Trump’s campaign against Cassidy.

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42 VOTES
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Donald Trump R · President of the United States
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People in this story

SWIPE →
Donald Trump
R · President of the United States

President who endorsed Letlow and campaigned against Cassidy

PRIMARY SUBJECT
Bill Cassidy
R · LA · SEN

Louisiana senator whose reelection bid ended after he failed to advance to the runoff

Cassidy's version of this story ↗
Julia Letlow
R · LA-5

Louisiana representative and Senate candidate who advanced to the runoff

Letlow's version of this story ↗
John Thune
R · SD · SEN

Senate majority leader who backed Cassidy

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
R · Secretary of Health and Human Services

Secretary of Health and Human Services whose allies criticized Cassidy over the Casey Means nomination

Louisiana treasurer and Senate candidate who advanced to the runoff

Former House candidate elected to Congress in 2020 who died before taking office

Part of a bigger story

45 OUTLETS
Bill Cassidy Loses Louisiana Republican Primary

Bill Cassidy finished third and was eliminated from Louisiana’s Republican Senate primary; Julia Letlow and John Fleming advanced to a runoff. Donald Trump backed Letlow and campaigned against Cassidy. Left-leaning outlets link Cassidy’s defeat to Trump’s campaign against him and Cassidy’s conflicts with the administration. Center outlets mostly treat the result as a test of Trump’s influence, while also reporting the race and, in some coverage, Louisiana election concerns. Right-leaning outlets emphasize Trump’s backing of Letlow as a political win and portray Cassidy’s defeat as a rebuke of his opposition to Trump.

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