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BATON ROUGE, Louisiana — Louisiana’s 2026 Republican Senate primary produced an unusually competitive result on May 16, 2026, as incumbent Senator Bill Cassidy failed to qualify for the runoff despite significantly outspending his rivals. With about 98 percent of ballots counted, projections from major news organizations, including the Associated Press and CBS News, showed Representative Julia Letlow in first place with 45.2 percent of the vote, followed by State Treasurer John Fleming with 28.3 percent. Cassidy finished third with 24.4 percent, becoming the first incumbent U.S. senator since 2012 to miss the initial primary cut. Because no candidate crossed Louisiana’s 50 percent threshold to secure the nomination outright, Letlow and Fleming will advance to a June 27 runoff that will decide the Republican nominee for the November 3, 2026 general election. The contest unfolded against the backdrop of a high-profile feud between Cassidy and former President Donald Trump, who had endorsed Letlow and urged voters to reject Cassidy over his 2021 vote to convict Trump in the former president’s second impeachment trial. On election day and after the results were known, Trump used his Truth Social platform to criticize Cassidy and praise Letlow’s performance, while Letlow thanked Trump in her victory speech and described his backing as the most powerful endorsement in American politics. Cassidy, a two-term senator and physician, conceded on Saturday night, telling supporters that candidates in a democracy should not claim elections are stolen and indirectly dismissing Trump’s attacks by saying insults matter only when they come from people with character and integrity. Financial filings showed Cassidy’s campaign and an allied political action committee spent more than $20 million combined, compared with roughly $10 million in total spending by Letlow’s campaign and her supportive PAC.

Prepared by Lauren Mitchell and reviewed by editorial team.