Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy waves off Trump's backing of GOP rival in reelection bid

BATON ROGUE, La. (AP) — Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana on Friday downplayed the impact of President Donald Trump backing a GOP rival in a race that will test whether the the two-term senator can survive the president's quest to rid the party of members who have crossed him.

Cassidy expressed confidence about reelction after submitting his paperwork for Louisiana's May primary, formally thrusting him into a race that stands to be the toughest of his political career. His opponent, Republican Rep. Julia Letlow, was endorsed by Trump even before she officially declared her intentions to run.

Cassidy, 68, is on the ballot for the first time since his vote to convict the president during Trump's 2021 impeachment trial after the Jan. 6. attack on the U.S. Capitol. He pointed to his work for Louisiana when asked if he regretted the vote from five years ago, a question that he says Trump has never asked him.

“The people of our state want safer streets, they want to be healthier, they want to have more money in their pocket. I have delivered that working with President Trump, over and over again,” Cassidy said. "That’s what the race should be decided on.”

Cassidy was censured by Louisiana Republicans for joining six other Republicans in voting to convict Trump. He has sought to mend ties with Trump and his loyalists, including casting the decisive vote to advance Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination as the nation's Health and Human Services secretary.

Letlow, who also filed her candidate paperwork in Baton Rouge, said Trump's endorsement was a reflection that “he needs someone he can depend on over in the Senate.”

Outside the Louisiana Secretary of State's Office, Cassidy's campaign parked a mobile billboard that displayed various attacks on Letlow, including one calling her a “liberal."

“I can tell you this, President Trump would never endorse someone who is not a true America First conservative. He has chosen me to endorse and that should give the people peace of mind when they have to look at these negative, desperate ads,” Letlow said.

Louisiana State Treasurer John Fleming is also running in the Republican primary, along with a lesser-known Republican candidate, Mark Spencer.

On the other side of the ballot, the filing deadline in Louisiana came and went with big-name Democrats choosing not to mount a Senate challenge. The last time the state had a Democrat in the Senate was Mary Landrieu, who served from 1997 to 2015.

Former Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards, who served two terms in a typically red state, announced last year he would not seek the Senate seat. Randal Gaines, chair of the Louisiana Democratic Party, told The Associated Press the party had also approached Mitch Landrieu, Louisiana’s former lieutenant governor. He also served as a senior advisor to former President Joe Biden.

Both decided the “current political climate was not conducive for a Democrat winning a U.S. Senate seat in Louisiana,” Gaines said.

“We are building for a transformative future. Successfully running for political office is about timing and opportunity. Our strategy is the long game,” Gaines said.

Gaines did not say whether the party would endorse any of the three other Democrats who qualified to run.