President Donald Trump notched another revenge win over the weekend as an incumbent GOP senator who voted to impeach him in 2021 and has more recently been a thorn in the side of the “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) movement lost his primary in resounding fashion.
The Primary Results
As reported on Monday’s AM Update, U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) placed third in the GOP primary Saturday night, some 20 points behind his Trump-endorsed challenger.
The president publicly supported Congresswoman Julia Letlow (R-LA), who won about 45 percent of the vote. Louisiana State Treasurer John Fleming came in second with about 28 percent, and Cassidy finished third at 25 percent. The loss made the two-term Louisiana Republican the first incumbent GOP senator to lose renomination since 2012.
With no candidate surpassing the 50 percent threshold, Letlow and Flaming will now advance to a June 27 runoff to determine who will be the GOP nominee on the November general election ballot.
What Went Wrong
Cassidy was one of just seven Senate Republicans to vote to convict President Trump after the January 6, 2021, riot, long putting him in the president’s crosshairs. Since Trump returned to office, Sen. Cassidy has largely backed his agenda, voting to confirm several of his nominees, including Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., despite significant reservations.
But more recently, the senator drew the ire of the MAHA-wing of the party. Cassidy, a medical doctor and chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, came under fire from Kennedy allies who blamed him for blocking a committee vote on Dr. Casey Means’ nomination for Surgeon General. The senator also remained publicly skeptical of Secretary Kennedy’s push to revamp the federal vaccine recommendations.
His defeat marked another win in President Trump’s effort to punish Republicans who have crossed him. Earlier this month, AM Update reported on the president’s successful effort to oust Indiana state lawmakers who defied his demands to redraw state congressional districts.
Trump’s Influence
On Monday’s edition of The Megyn Kelly Show, Megyn recalled that Cassidy is the only sitting member of Congress she has ever encouraged her audience to reach out to back when it wasn’t clear whether he would allow RFKJ’s nomination to move through committee. More recently, the president blamed Cassidy for derailing his Surgeon General pick, but Megyn wasn’t convinced the MAHA issues alone had Trump out for him. Instead, she believes his role in the second impeachment trial was his undoing.
Her guest, MK Media’s Mark Halperin, agreed. “The president… forgives people all the time, but there are some things he can’t forgive,” he explained. “And he does… understand the importance – in politics and hardball professions – of setting examples and sending signals to folks.”
Halperin noted senior advisors like political strategist Chris LaCivita share that “tough,” “take no prisoners” attitude. “When they see someone cross them, they write it down in a little book. And when the time comes, they go after them,” he said. “Cassidy lost his job for one reason only: Donald Trump.”
In Halperin’s view, President Trump is quite strategic in the Republicans he targets. “The voters get to decide, but Donald Trump gets to tell the voters what he would like them to do. Within the confines of Republican primaries, they generally do what Donald Trump says. He has almost never lost,” he explained. “[Trump] knows how to pick his spots and, in this case, he found a candidate who he thought could beat Sen. Cassidy and he was right.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Halperin by tuning in to episode 1,319 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s The Megyn Kelly Channel (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.