The 'betrayal' vote against Mr. Trump causes Republican senator to lose election
Cassidy was criticized by President Trump as a "traitor" for supporting his impeachment in 2021, becoming the first Republican senator to lose a primary election in nearly a decade.
Five years after voting to impeach President Donald Trump over the 2021 Capitol riot, Republican Senator Bill Cassidy is paying the price with the biggest defeat of his career. In the Louisiana primary election last week, Cassidy finished third, meaning he cannot represent the Republican Party to run for re-election to the Senate seat in November.
The top two positions belonged to Representative Julia Letlow, who was publicly backed by Mr. Trump, and John Fleming, Louisiana's state treasurer. Letlow and Fleming will face off directly on June 27, as no candidate won a majority of the votes. This result makes Cassidy the first incumbent Republican senator to lose a primary election since 2017.
"Cassidy's betrayal of the man who helped get him elected is now a well-known story, and it's nice to see him end his political career," President Trump wrote on the social media platform Truth Social on May 16.
Senator Bill Cassidy hugs a supporter in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on May 16. Photo: AP
American voters this November will cast ballots to re-elect the entire House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate seats, including Cassidy's. Having lost the primary election, the 68-year-old senator will conclude his six-year term in January 2027.
Over the past year, hoping for re-election, Cassidy repeatedly sought to improve relations with President Trump and the Make America Great Again (MAGA) voter base. Cassidy highlighted his role in bills signed into law by the President during his first term, while actively supporting several key policy priorities of the Trump administration.
Notably, Cassidy voted to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, despite having publicly expressed concerns about this candidate's anti-vaccine stance. As a physician, Cassidy had repeatedly defended vaccine science and warned against misinformation regarding immunization.
The decision to approve Kennedy Jr. was viewed by many observers as Cassidy's effort to show goodwill to the White House and Mr. Trump's supporters. However, that did not help him regain trust from hardline conservative voters.
"For someone with such a sharp mind, his political strategy was incredibly naive," Lionel Rainey, a Republican strategist in Louisiana, told Politico.
'No regrets'
From the very beginning of his re-election campaign, Cassidy's race was overshadowed by criticisms that he had "betrayed" Mr. Trump. In the 2021 impeachment vote, Mr. Trump was acquitted by the Senate as the vote count was 57-43, falling 10 votes short of the required two-thirds majority.
Cassidy stated at the time that he made his decision based on "conscience and the constitution." However, against the backdrop of the MAGA faction's growing influence within the Republican Party, this vote quickly became his biggest political vulnerability.
In this year's campaign, both Letlow and Fleming continuously reminded voters that Cassidy had voted to impeach President Trump. The U.S. President himself also attacked Cassidy multiple times on social media.
Many Republican voters in Louisiana believed the issue lay not in policy, but in trust. Charles Wandfluh, a voter in the suburbs of New Orleans, said Cassidy tried to present himself as an ally of President Trump, despite having voted against him.
"Cassidy is like a squirrel running around a tree trunk, chasing after any nut that could benefit him," Mr. Wandfluh told AP. "He tried to show that he was aligned with Mr. Trump on many issues, while he himself cast the vote supporting impeachment."
Some voters criticized Cassidy for making too many concessions. Mark Workman, a 75-year-old retired physician, said he was disappointed that Cassidy did not block Kennedy's nomination.
"If Cassidy had blocked the confirmation of Kennedy Jr., I would definitely support him because that would be a strong action," Mr. Workman said. "He had the power to stop it but was too soft."
This placed Cassidy in a difficult position. He could not regain the trust of President Trump's loyalists, while simultaneously losing support from a segment of moderate voters who had previously appreciated his independent stance.
In his concession speech after the defeat, Cassidy acknowledged that reality but asserted he had no regrets about his choice. "I had the opportunity to participate in democracy. And when you participate in democracy, sometimes the results don't go the way you want," Cassidy told supporters in the capital city of Baton Rouge.
U.S. President Donald Trump on the White House grounds on May 15. Photo: AP
Cassidy's defeat is seen as the latest testament to President Trump's ability to maintain his influence over the Republican Party, even as he serves his final term and faces various political pressures.
Over the years, Republican politicians who openly confronted President Trump have often faced disadvantages when running for re-election. Several senators who voted to impeach him, such as Mitt Romney, Pat Toomey, or Ben Sasse, all left politics instead of continuing to face pressure from MAGA voters.
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Senator Lindsey Graham, who once criticized Mr. Trump but later became a close ally, believed that Cassidy's case reflects the current reality of power within the Republican Party.
"This is Mr. Trump's party," Mr. Graham said on NBC. "You can disagree with the President, but if you try to destroy him politically, you will fail."
