Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) won’t be taking sides after Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) failed to make a June 27 runoff for his Louisiana Senate seat.
“Not weighing in on that,” Thune told the Washington Examiner when asked if he had a preference between Rep. Julia Letlow (R-LA) and State Treasurer John Fleming, the two candidates who defeated Cassidy in Saturday night’s primary.
“We’ll see how it plays out, but at this point, it’s going to be up to the voters,” Thune said Monday.
As an incumbent, Thune had endorsed Cassidy for reelection and tried to get President Donald Trump on board as well. But the president, upset at Cassidy’s 2021 impeachment vote, instead encouraged Letlow to run and preemptively endorsed her. The race became a referendum on Cassidy’s perceived disloyalty to the president as a result.
On election night, Letlow placed first with 45% of the vote, while Fleming beat Cassidy for second place, receiving 28% support to Cassidy’s 25%. Under Louisiana law, the top two finishers advance to a runoff if no one earns an outright majority.
When asked about the outcome, Thune called Cassidy a “very principled conservative, very independent thinker” and alluded to polling that consistently showed him placing second or third in the primary.
“He probably knew the challenges he was up against in that race, and the way it turned out, obviously the Republican voters in Louisiana have spoken, and so we’ll move on,” Thune said.
Cassidy was also backed by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which has so far not waded into the runoff. On Monday, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) endorsed Letlow, calling her a “strong conservative fighter who has consistently delivered for Louisiana families, and for President Trump.”
Cassidy’s loss comes at a precarious time for Thune, who is trying to pass a party-line bill on immigration enforcement that became controversial for Republicans over the millions added to secure Trump’s East Wing ballroom project.
CASSIDY LOSES SHOT AT REELECTION AS LOUISIANA SENATE RACE HEADS TO RUNOFF
Cassidy is one of several Republicans who are noncommittal on approving those funds and could present a roadblock for GOP leadership in other ways as chairman of the Senate’s health and labor committee, though Thune on Monday called him a “team player.”
“He’s got several months here in which he can be a real force for change and a factor in trying to get some things done,” Thune said. “We look forward to continuing to work with him, and we’ll proceed accordingly.”