Republican Rep. Julia Letlow of Louisiana formally launched a 2026 Senate bid Tuesday, setting up a high-stakes intraparty challenge to GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy that will test the strength of President Donald Trumps influence in a deep-red state.
Her announcement came just days after Trump publicly urged her to enter the race and pledged his backing, according to the Daily Caller. In a surprise Truth Social post on Saturday, the President declared that Letlow would have his Complete and Total Endorsement if she chose to take on Cassidy, one of only seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump during his second impeachment trial following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
Letlow initially responded with caution, signaling appreciation but not yet commitment. She wrote that she was honored to have Trumps endorsement but stopped short of confirming a campaign until Tuesdays rollout.
Today, I am announcing my candidacy for the United States Senate to ensure the nation we leave our children is safer and stronger. Louisiana deserves a conservative Senator who will not waver, Letlow declared in a post on X, where she also released a polished announcement video. She added, I am honored to have President Trumps endorsement and trust.
Speaking later at a campaign event in Baton Rouge, Letlow framed her decision as both a spiritual calling and a family legacy. My parents taught me well. They taught me that when the Lord opens a door, you dont walk through ityou run. Its an honor to share with you today that Im officially announcing my candidacy for the United States Senate, she said in remarks obtained by Politico ahead of her official announcement.
Cassidy, who is seeking a third term, moved quickly to project confidence and continuity. Congresswoman Letlow called me this morning to say she was running. She said she respected me and that I had done a good job, Cassidy wrote Tuesday on X. 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, a former academic administrator, first entered Congress under tragic circumstances that resonated deeply with voters. She won a 2021 special election to fill the House seat her late husband, Luke Letlow, had captured in 2020 before dying from COVID-19 complications prior to being sworn in.
Cassidy appeared caught off guard by Trumps decision to side so decisively with his challenger. He told NBC that senior people in Trumps orbit had previously assured him the President would remain neutral in the Louisiana contest, a promise that evaporated with Saturdays endorsement.
Despite his 2021 vote to convict Trump, Cassidy has spent the past year trying to repair that political breach. He has backed all of Trumps cabinet nominees, including Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., even while publicly disagreeing with the administration on vaccine policy.
Cassidy has also highlighted his proximity to the White House as evidence of his relevance in a Trump-led GOP. As of Tuesday, the pinned post on his X account is a photograph of him with Trump in the Oval Office, accompanied by the caption, This is what a great working relationship looks like.
From his perch as chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Cassidy has pledged to be a key legislative partner for the administration. He vowed Friday to shepherd Trumps latest health care proposal through the Senate, a role that would give him significant leverage over the shape of any future health care bill.
The senator insists that Letlows entry will not alter his plans or his posture. Im proudly running for re-election as a principled conservative who gets things done for the people of Louisiana, Cassidy said after Trump endorsed Letlow. I am confident I will win if Congresswoman Letlow decides to run.
Louisianas Senate seat is considered safely Republican, meaning the real battle will be fought within the GOP rather than against Democrats. Republican State Treasurer John Fleming is also in the race, and under Louisianas jungle primary system, if no candidate secures more than 50% of the vote on April 18, the top two finishers will advance to a May runoff.
The contest underscores a broader reckoning for Republicans who broke with Trump during his presidency and its aftermath. Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who likewise voted to convict Trump, is on the ballot this November without his backing, and Trump has argued that she and other defectors deserved to lose after she voted to restrict his ability to launch future strikes against Venezuela without congressional approval.
For conservatives in Louisiana, the choice between Letlow and Cassidy will likely hinge on competing definitions of what it means to be a principled conservative in the Trump era.
Letlow is offering voters an unapologetically pro-Trump, no-compromise brand of Republicanism, while Cassidy is betting that his record of legislative influence, committee power and recent alignment with the Trump administration on key nominations and policy will outweigh his impeachment vote in the eyes of a strongly conservative electorate.
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