Rep. Julia Letlow, R-La., has President Donald Trump's endorsement in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate — but it hasn't been enough to guarantee her victory.
Trump is seeking to oust incumbent Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who voted to convict the president at his impeachment trial after the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Also running is state Treasurer John Fleming. All three candidates have a shot to make a two-candidate June runoff if no candidate clears 50% of the vote.
The much-anticipated primary will take place on May 16.
Cassidy has massively outspent Letlow, while Fleming is running in the same MAGA lane that she is.
"The Trump endorsement has not had a close-out move. Cassidy was ready for her," GOP state Rep. Mike Bayham told Politico.
"They defined her before she introduced herself," said Bayham, who has not endorsed a candidate.
Aside from Trump, Letlow has been endorsed by the Jefferson Parish Republican Executive Committee and Gov. Jeff Landry.
"We are talking about an incumbent who is underwater," a Letlow campaign aide told Politico. "Julia is surging. Her lead continues to grow the more the people learn that she's endorsed by the President."
Trump's super PAC, MAGA Inc., has yet to spend money on Letlow's behalf, while Cassidy has spent $14 million on ads attacking Letlow, who has spent just $4.6 million, Politico reported, citing AdImpact.
One Cassidy ad in constant rotation shows a clip of her praising diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in 2020. Another ad has attacked her for her trading of defense contractors' stocks during the Iran war.
Letlow has run ads attacking Cassidy for his support of the economic stimulus package that included DEI provisions.
"Cassidy's problem in this race is that he's trying to make it an ideological race. The problem with that framing is that he has spent the past four years trying to undermine the president," a Letlow aide told Politico.
Cassidy has clashed with Senate Republicans who he believes have not supported him enough, Punchbowl News reported.
The senator ripped the National Republican Senatorial Committee for not spending enough on his behalf in the primary. NRSC Executive Director Jennifer DeCasper retorted that he shouldn't have voted to convict Trump, sources told Punchbowl.
Fleming, who co-founded the House Freedom Caucus, looms over both candidates and is largely funding his campaign himself, Politico reported, and has ripped Cassidy for his impeachment vote.
"You know we've led — not by a lot, it's a tight race, right — but we've led the entire time," Fleming told Punchbowl News.
Fleming told Punchbowl he was contacted multiple times by people in Trump's orbit to drop out.
"I was contacted twice by a high-level person at the White House, again, asking if there's anything they could do, anything they could offer that would get me to drop out. And I said no, of course, diplomatically said no," Fleming told Punchbowl.
The White House denied making an offer to Fleming. But a source told Punchbowl the administration simply wants Cassidy out of the Senate.
Whoever wins the primary is expected to easily win the general election. The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan election handicapper, rates the seat as "Solid R."
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.