Trump’s Endorsement Power Faces Critical Test as Louisiana Decides

Liberty Check

• President Trump’s endorsement power undergoes another major test in Louisiana’s GOP Senate runoff
• Trump-backed Rep. Julia Letlow faces off against former White House aide John Fleming for Cassidy’s seat
• Recent primary results show mixed outcomes for Trump endorsements, with both victories and setbacks across multiple states

President Donald Trump’s commanding influence over the Republican Party faces another critical examination Saturday as Louisiana Republicans head to the polls in a high-stakes Senate runoff election.

Six weeks after Louisiana voters decisively rejected GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy — one of the few Republicans who dared vote to convict Trump during his second impeachment — the solidly conservative Gulf Coast state will choose between Rep. Julia Letlow and state Treasurer John Fleming for the now-open Senate seat.

A Letlow victory would reinforce Trump’s unmatched ability to reshape Congress with loyal constitutional conservatives during his final two years in office. However, a Fleming win would mark the third significant endorsement setback for Trump in this spring’s Republican primaries, raising questions about the absolute reach of his political influence.

Five years after his vote to convict Trump, Cassidy paid the ultimate political price, becoming the first elected Republican senator to lose renomination since Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana in 2012.

Letlow, whom Trump endorsed before she even entered the race in January, captured 45% of the primary vote. Fleming secured roughly 28%, while Cassidy managed just under 25%. With no candidate reaching the required 50% threshold, Letlow and Fleming advanced to the runoff, ending Cassidy’s Senate career.

Trump celebrated Cassidy’s defeat on social media.

“It’s nice to see that his political career is OVER!”

In his concession speech, Cassidy took a thinly veiled shot at Trump.

“When you participate in democracy, sometimes it doesn’t turn out the way you want it to. But you don’t pout, you don’t whine. You don’t claim the election was stolen… You don’t manufacture some excuse.”

Letlow, also backed by Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, a staunch Trump ally, won her congressional seat in 2021 following the tragic death of her husband, Luke Letlow, who died six days after being sworn into the U.S. House. She has prominently featured Trump’s support throughout her Senate campaign.

Fleming, who served eight years in Congress before becoming a White House deputy chief of staff during Trump’s first term, has positioned himself as the most conservative candidate in the GOP field.

The Republican nominee will enter the midterm election as the overwhelming favorite against either farmer Jamie Davis or Navy veteran Gary Crockett, who are competing in the Democratic Senate runoff.

Trump’s endorsement power has been formidable in GOP primaries over the past two months, with his candidates successfully ousting targeted incumbents in Indiana, Kentucky, Texas, and Louisiana’s primary.

Yet the president’s endorsement streak hit a snag when his last-minute backing of Republican Rep. Randy Feenstra in Iowa’s gubernatorial race failed to secure victory. Feenstra was narrowly defeated by Zach Lahn, a businessman and farmer backed by the Make America Healthy Again movement aligned with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Turning Point USA.

Three weeks ago in South Carolina, Trump rebounded as his endorsed candidates — Lt. Gov. Pam Evette and longtime ally Sen. Lindsey Graham — both won their respective GOP primaries.

Graham was challenged by five candidates, including conservative businessman Mark Lynch, who criticized the senator’s support for military action in Iran and received backing from some MAGA leaders skeptical of certain Trump endorsements.

Two weeks ago, Trump-backed candidates won two of three top races in Georgia and Alabama. Rep. Barry Moore, a House Freedom Caucus member, comfortably defeated rival Jared Hudson in Alabama’s GOP Senate runoff.

In Georgia’s Republican Senate runoff, an eleventh-hour Trump endorsement helped Rep. Mike Collins, a MAGA champion, defeat former college football coach Derek Dooley, who was supported by popular conservative Gov. Brian Kemp.

Collins will face Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in November in one of several races that will determine whether the GOP maintains its slim Senate majority.

However, in Georgia’s GOP gubernatorial runoff, Trump-backed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones — also endorsed by Kemp — was defeated by billionaire businessman Rick Jackson, who ran as an outsider and spent over $100 million of his own money on his campaign.

Tuesday brought another Trump victory when Anthony Constantino, a businessman and former boxer, defeated Robert Smullen, a retired Marine Corps colonel backed by the state party, in upstate New York’s race to succeed retiring GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik.

In South Carolina’s Republican gubernatorial runoff, Trump endorsed both Evette and state Attorney General Alan Wilson, who won the showdown in a landslide.

The Constitution must be defended.