‘Awkward’ Louisiana Senate race divides Republicans

Louisiana is home to Mardi Gras, cajun cooking, and Republicans’ most awkward Senate race.

Senate Republicans are torn between one of their own chairman, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, and President Donald Trump’s pick, Rep. Julia Letlow, in a unique test of an incumbent senator facing the wrath of a president he voted to disqualify from future office in 2021. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, survived a similar battle in 2022, but there are important differences: Trump is now sitting president; Letlow is a more serious threat than Murkowski’s opponent, Kelly Tshibaka; and Cassidy is not a moderate like Murkowski.

And Republicans are trying to save the Senate majority and Louisiana is a deep-red state that Democrats aren’t even contesting. That’s turned GOP groups’ focus elsewhere, even as Cassidy is nearly universally respected in the Senate Republican Conference as a sober, serious legislator with deep policy knowledge.

“Bill’s a good guy. I like him. How the race shakes out is up to the voters of Louisiana. Obviously, the president has a reason to feel the way he does, and I can understand that too,” said Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, a vice-chair at the National Republican Senatorial Committee who is vying to lead the committee next year.

Moreno noted the NRSC has helped Cassidy but said he personally is staying out of it going forward: “It’s always awkward, but ultimately he’s gotta make his case. [Letlow is] gonna make the case, and we’ll see how it shakes out.”

Letlow isn’t winning over GOP senators to her side yet, though her entry into the race is freezing plenty of politically-active Republicans from siding directly with Cassidy. The May 16 primary among Cassidy, Letlow, and former Rep. John Fleming, R-La., is chaotic and difficult to assess — and likely to go to a runoff between the top two finishers. Polls show no clear-cut favorites even to make the runoff.

Moreno isn’t alone on the sidelines: Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., is officially neutral (though his PAC previously donated to Cassidy) and Moreno’s fellow vice-chair, Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., has kept quiet on the race. The same goes for former NRSC chairmen Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who has his own tricky primary to contend with.

“I’m gonna leave that between Senator Cassidy and President Trump — well, actually, between Senator Cassidy and the voters in Louisiana. They’re going to have the final say. I’m focused on my race, as you might imagine,” Cornyn said.

Scott, who endorsed Murkowski in 2022 as NRSC chairman, said that he has “a good relationship with Bill Cassidy” but he “generally” doesn’t get involved in primaries.

The party infrastructure has lent some help to the incumbent GOP senator.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune took part in a political event with Cassidy in January to raise more than $600,000 shortly before Letlow jumped into the race; Thune stands by his endorsement for Cassidy, according to a person familiar with the matter. NRSC Chair Tim Scott, R-S.C., endorsed Cassidy and the group has assisted his campaign.

But the Senate GOP’s top super PAC, the Senate Leadership Fund, is focused on battleground states and has not spent in deep-red Louisiana. (Under different leadership, SLF spent $6 million to help Murkowski in 2022.) Cassidy is listed on their candidates website.

In an interview, Cassidy said he felt sufficiently supported by the GOP political machine and said he has a “good working relationship” with the NRSC. He declined to say he wants more air support from GOP groups.

“I’d rather not talk about the mechanics of the race,” Cassidy said. “I’m very comfortable with how things are transpiring.”

Still, the dynamics are causing some Republicans to question how much the party will have their backs when they face future primary challenges. One Republican senator acknowledged it’s “awkward, but I still think we can do more. He’s the incumbent. He’s been a valuable member of the conference.”

“Sen. Cassidy is one of the most capable US senators that I’ve had the pleasure of serving with. It is a shame that we can’t get the administration and other people to see that,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who is retiring at the end of the year and has his own feud with the Trump administration. He said GOP groups are sufficiently helping Cassidy, “but you can never do enough in these races. To me, you’ve always got to protect your incumbents.”