Trump-backed Republican Louisiana Rep. Julia Letlow bested State Treasurer John Fleming in a Saturday GOP primary showdown to replace an ousted senator who had voted to convict the president.
Letlow won 56.5% of the vote in the Republican primary runoff to Fleming’s 43.5%, The Associated Press (AP) reported with 69% of ballots counted. Given Louisiana’s strong red lean, the 45-year-old congresswoman thereby becomes the heavy favorite in the upcoming November general election to succeed outgoing two-term Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy who, coming in third place during the May primary, failed to make the runoff.
President Donald Trump notably announced he would endorse Letlow in January, three days before she entered the race to unseat Cassidy. Fleming, 74 — who served in Congress from 2009 to 2017 and co-founded the conservative House Freedom Caucus — had been running for the Senate seat since December 2024. Fleming also previously worked as a doctor and businessman, served in the U.S. Navy, and held multiple roles in Trump’s first administration.
Cassidy, in February 2021, became just one of seven GOP senators to side with Democrats in voting to convict Trump after his second impeachment. With the vote falling short of the required two-thirds majority threshold to convict him, Trump was acquitted of his charge of “incitement of insurrection” following the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
In his first time on the ballot for voters since rebuking the president, Cassidy won only 24.8% of the vote in the first round of the primary, compared to Letlow’s 44.8% and Fleming’s 28.3%.
Letlow has served in the House since winning a special election in March 2021. Her late husband, Luke Letlow, had been elected to the seat the previous December but died later that month from complications of COVID-19 without ever taking office.
Before being elected to Congress, Letlow, who has doctorate in communications, worked in academia serving as director of external affairs and strategic communications for the University of Louisiana Monroe (ULM). Records obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation in January show that, during Letlow’s time at ULM, she helped spearhead diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts.
“One of the first things I would do: I believe we need a division on this campus, a division of diversity, equity, and inclusion with leadership that goes all the way to the top with a full staff,” Letlow said in a 2020 video made while she was interviewing for the ULM presidency.
The Republican has publicly opposed “woke ideology” in education since entering electoral politics.
“I know Julia well, have seen her tested at the highest and most difficult levels, and she is a TOTAL WINNER!” Trump said in his January post to Truth Social endorsing Letlow. “A Proud Mother of two children, Julia is a wonderful person, has ALWAYS delivered for Louisiana, and would continue doing so in the United States Senate.”
“Congratulations, Julia Letlow! I’m looking forward to keeping Louisiana red, and welcoming a new conservative ally to our Republican Majority in the U.S. Senate,” Republican South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, the National Republican Senatorial Committee chair, said in a statement to the DCNF.
Letlow is widely expected to beat Democratic nominee Jamie Davis, who won his party’s primary runoff which was also held Saturday.
(DCNF)