As Bill Cassidy fights for his political life, he refuses to accept the political seriousness around him.
Five years after voting to convict President Donald Trump in his impeachment trial over Trump’s election denial and the January 6 Capitol riot, Cassidy today faces a challenge from Trump-backed Rep. Julia Letlow (R-La) and GOP state Treasurer John Fleming in a crucial Louisiana primary, the next stop on Trump’s revenge tour.
In an interview with Politico on Saturday, Cassidy seemed detached from the reality he was facing, often ignoring Fleming, referring only to Letlow as “my opponent,” and complaining about the state shifting to a closed party primary in 2024.
If Trump’s effort to remove Cassidy succeeds, it could unleash another rogue in the Senate with a vendetta against Trump with nothing left to lose.
But Cassidy claims he’s not thinking about it. Asked whether he would be a thorn in the side of Trump in his remaining months in office if he leaves office and joins other YOLO Republicans, Cassidy expressed defiance.
“I’m going to win today,” Cassidy said. “I may be ruined. But I will always vote for the well-being of my country and my people.”
If no candidate achieves 50 percent in today’s voting, the top two candidates will advance to the June 27 election. Recent surveys suggest that a tough three-pronged campaign is being waged. Most polling places Cassidy in third place behind Letlow and Fleming, another MAGA candidate.
Cassidy spoke to POLITICO by phone before heading to Election Day after attending a wedding Friday evening. He talked about his plans to improve affordability and criticized Letlow for not voting for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Cassidy said, “I don’t know exactly why, but it takes courage, and so you have to figure out what’s right, and then you have to have the courage to do what’s right, and that’s what I have.” “I’ve proven it. That’s what this race is about.”
But in the final hours before the results came in, the same senator who drew Trump’s ire over his impeachment vote was shouting about voting issues.
Cassidy echoed his concerns Regarding Louisiana moving to a closed primary system, he told Playbook that he had just gotten off the phone with a “no party” voter who tried to vote for him, but was told he couldn’t. Cassidy said he was speaking with Louisiana Secretary of State Nancy Landy, who he said is investigating. A spokesperson for the Secretary of State’s office said in a statement, “We cannot comment on Senator Cassidy’s claim without specific details, but like any claims of voter irregularities, we take them seriously, and will investigate any complaints made to our office.”
Cassidy said, “Today, I’m trying to make sure that people are able to exercise their right to vote… in a system that is actually designed to prevent people from voting for me.”
He primarily ignored the role of MAHA. “People in our state want someone who has worked,” he said. “If you’re talking about ‘making America healthy again,’ then my God, I’ve worked to make our state healthy again. And so if people are concerned about our state being healthy again, I’m your candidate.”
And he expressed no regret over his impeachment decision.
“It’s not something I think about.” Cassidy said. “If my opponent is focused on that, she’s thinking about five years from now. I’m thinking about five years from now. If she wants to be married to the past, then be married to the past, but in a silly way, you’re not working for the future. I’m working for the future, that’s what I’m focused on.”
Despite Cassidy’s determination, GOP sources in Louisiana see a bleak outlook for Cassidy — no matter where he ends up at the end of the day.
“There’s about a 0.0 percent chance that Bill Cassidy is coming back to the Senate,” said an unaligned GOP strategist with experience in the race in Louisiana and granted anonymity to assess the state of play.
“He’s run a lot of ads,” the person said, “and the problem with his ads is that he’s in them.”
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