{"id":2603420,"date":"2026-05-16T06:54:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T10:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bill-cassidys-political-future-hangs-in-the-balance\/"},"modified":"2026-05-16T06:55:06","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T10:55:06","slug":"bill-cassidys-political-future-hangs-in-the-balance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bill-cassidys-political-future-hangs-in-the-balance\/","title":{"rendered":"Bill Cassidy\u2019s political future hangs in the balance"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbill-cassidys-political-future-hangs-in-the-balance%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2603420&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Sen.Bill Cassidy (R-LA) is portrayed as a powerful Senate health committee chairman who aligned wiht President Donald Trump 100% of the time last year-but the article argues that may not be enough to protect his political future. It highlights his 2021 vote to convict Trump after the Capitol riot adn recent friction involving public-health politics connected to Kennedy\u2019s anti-\u201cMAHA\u201d campaign movement.<\/p>\n<p>With louisiana\u2019s Republican primary approaching, voters are said to be receiving mixed guidance. Trump publicly urged republicans to vote Cassidy out of office, while top Senate GOP leaders and the NRSC are backing Cassidy. The piece notes it\u2019s possible no candidate reaches the 50% threshold, leading to a June 27 runoff.<\/p>\n<p>Cassidy\u2019s campaign emphasizes his abortion record, claiming his actions and influence in relevant committees will appeal to undecided conservatives and single-issue pro-life voters. The article also describes his record with conservative groups as a mix: he\u2019s clashed with vaccine-related stances associated with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., but has pursued investigations related to FDA abortion drug decisions and imported abortion pills.<\/p>\n<p>The race is framed as a three-way contest among Cassidy, Trump-backed Rep. Julia Letlow, and louisiana Treasurer John Fleming, with polls varying widely and Cassidy reportedly leading only a small number of nonsponsored surveys. Cassidy\u2019s team believes Letlow is the more favorable runoff opponent, and the article discusses how both Cassidy and Letlow spent time campaigning in louisiana rather than voting in Washington, with Letlow missing multiple House votes while Cassidy largely did not.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p>Sen. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/bill-cassidy\/\">Bill Cassidy<\/a> (R-LA) wields immense power as a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4474863\/trump-nominee-presents-latest-challenge-for-cassidy\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4474863\/trump-nominee-presents-latest-challenge-for-cassidy\/\">committee chairman<\/a> and voted in line with President Donald Trump <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/votehub.com\/trump-score\">100% of the time<\/a> last year.<\/p>\n<p>It still may not be enough to save his political career.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4571408\/florida-democrat-arrested-sit-in-desantis-office\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Florida Democrat arrested after sit-in outside DeSantis\u2019s office<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4570644\/lauren-boebert-campaign-thomas-massie-tough-kentucky-primary\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Lauren Boebert to campaign for Thomas Massie ahead of tough primary<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/4570409\/steve-cohen-ends-reelection-bid-new-maps-redrew-his-district\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Steve Cohen ends reelection bid due to redrawn district<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>The second-term senator\u2019s vote in 2021 to convict Trump of impeachment over the U.S. Capitol riot and his recent tensions with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.\u2019s <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4570460\/nra-sues-virginia-assault-weapons-ban-supreme-court-review-similar-laws\/\">Make America Healthy Again<\/a><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/healthcare\/4506684\/maha-maga-tensions-grow-2026-elections\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/healthcare\/4506684\/maha-maga-tensions-grow-2026-elections\/\">  movement<\/a> loom large over his future in the Senate as primary voters head to the polls Saturday to settle on a nominee in a three-way field.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>But if Republican voters are looking for guidance from national party leaders on whether to side with Cassidy, Trump-backed Rep. Julia Letlow (R-LA), or state Treasurer John Fleming, they\u2019re in for mixed messages.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHopefully all of the Great Republican People of Louisiana, which I won, BIG, three times, will be voting Bill Cassidy OUT OF OFFICE in the upcoming Republican Primary!\u201d Trump wrote April 30 on Truth Social, some of his most recent remarks on the race.<\/p>\n<p>In a rare break with Trump, Senate GOP leaders and their campaign arm, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, are firmly behind their incumbent colleague.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBill Cassidy has been a terrific senator for Louisiana,\u201d Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. \u201cObviously, [NRSC Chairman] Tim Scott and I \u2014 the NRSC \u2014 our job is to do what we can to support incumbents. But obviously, the voters of Louisiana are going to make that decision.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While the primary is Saturday, that decision may not be known until more than a month later. It\u2019s likely that none of the trio will garner more than 50% of the vote needed to avert a June 27 runoff. If they fall short, the top two vote-getters head to the runoff.<\/p>\n<p>Cassidy, a doctor by trade and chairman of the Senate health committee, believes his track record on abortion policy will weigh heavily in his favor with undecided conservatives or single-issue voters.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople in my state want somebody who\u2019s delivered,\u201d Cassidy <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/healthcare\/4568962\/bill-cassidy-anti-abortion-policy-reelection\/\">told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> in a recent interview<\/a>. \u201cWhen it comes to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gop-leaders-to-meet-with-trump-on-agenda\/\" title=\"GOP Leaders to Meet With ... on Agenda\">pro-life issue<\/a>, I\u2019ve been far more active than my opponents \u2014 active not just with lip service but actually doing something to make a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cassidy has used his influence atop the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee in ways that have both irked and delighted conservatives.<\/p>\n<p>To the chagrin of the MAHA movement, he\u2019s butted heads with vaccine policies from Kennedy and stymied the confirmation of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3404409\/trump-pulls-nomination-dr-janette-nesheiwat-surgeon-general\/\">former surgeon general nominee Casey Means<\/a>. But he\u2019s also mounted several investigations into the Food and Drug Administration\u2019s approval of a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/healthcare\/3853180\/gop-abortion-pill-approval-fda-oversight\/\">new generic version of mifepristone<\/a> and its handling of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/healthcare\/4503462\/gop-senators-demand-action-fda-illegal-abortion-pill-sales\/\">illicit foreign imports<\/a> of abortion drugs.<\/p>\n<p>In a post-<em>Roe v. Wade<\/em> world, the state of Louisiana is arguing in an ongoing lawsuit against the FDA that <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >mail-order access abortion pills violate state law<\/a> and the Comstock Act, which prohibits the mailing of such materials. Cassidy is backed by the political arm of the Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America group, the country\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-takes-heat-from-conservatives-after-calling-abortion-ban-terrible\/\" title=\"Conservatives criticize ... for ...beling abortion ban as &#039;terrible&#039;.\">largest anti-abortion organization<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are a very pro-life state, and there are single-issue voters in our state who are going to look at my endorsement by SBA and say, \u2018This is why I\u2019m going to vote for Bill Cassidy,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Cassidy and his campaign say Gov. Jeff Landry (R-LA), who endorsed Letlow, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4554546\/cassidy-says-governor-backed-trump-rival-by-not-moving-primary\/\">sowed confusion<\/a> into the weekend election \u2014 perhaps intentionally \u2014 by <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/4549082\/louisiana-governor-suspend-primary-election\/\">postponing only the state\u2019s House primary elections<\/a> after a Supreme Court ruling.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., greets supporters with his wife Laura Cassidy at a campaign stop at Drago\u2019s Restaurant Tuesday, May 5, 2026, in Metairie, La. (AP Photo\/Gerald Herbert)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Polls <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/polls\/louisiana-us-senate-election-polls-2026.html\">vary widely<\/a> over who may emerge in the top two. But Cassidy has led just two surveys this year that his campaign did not sponsor. Over the past month, Letlow or Fleming has led the pack.<\/p>\n<p>The Cassidy campaign believes the two-term senator will advance to a runoff against Letlow. It contends she presents an easier head-to-head matchup than Fleming because of her past policy record, which Cassidy aides say lends vulnerabilities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMission one,\u201d Cassidy campaign adviser Mark Harris said, is to \u201cfinish in the top two\u201d on Saturday to advance to a runoff. \u201cIt\u2019s sort of Julia\u2019s to lose in this first round.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cassidy and Letlow sacrificed votes in Washington to campaign back home in the days leading up to the primary.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4554546\/cassidy-says-governor-backed-trump-rival-by-not-moving-primary\/\">CASSIDY SUGGESTS GOVERNOR BOOSTED TRUMP-BACKED RIVAL BY NOT MOVING SENATE PRIMARY<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Letlow <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4568569\/julia-letlow-trump-louisiana-senate-house-votes-campaign\/\">missed all 16 votes<\/a> in the House this week, during at least some of which she was campaigning in Louisiana. Letlow\u2019s office did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<p>Cassidy was in Washington for most of the week. He missed one of 11 recorded votes in the Senate, which came on Thursday when he was campaigning back in the Pelican State with the Susan B. Anthony group.<\/p>\n<p><em>Gabrielle M. Etzel and Hailey Bullis contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sen. Bill Cassidy\u2019s Trump-aligned votes may not protect his career<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3108,"featured_media":2603421,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP26128046371407.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[45496,51812,6100,5894,44832],"class_list":["post-2603420","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-2026-election","tag-bill-cassidy","tag-louisiana","tag-politics","tag-us-senate"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP26128046371407.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2603420","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3108"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2603420"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2603420\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2603424,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2603420\/revisions\/2603424"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2603421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2603420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2603420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2603420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}