Jan. 20 (UPI) — Rep. Julia Letlow, R-La., on Tuesday announced her candidacy to challenge incumbent Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., in the Republican primary after she secured President Donald Trump‘s endorsement.
Letlow announced her primary bid during a private breakfast meeting in Baton Rouge, and afterward made her decision by posting it on social media.
“I have fought alongside President Trump to put America first, standing up for our parents, securing our borders, supporting law enforcement, rooting out waste, fraud and abuse that drives up inflation, and fighting to fix an education system too focused on woke ideology instead of teaching,” Letlow said in a 2-minute ad announcing her candidacy.
“A state as conservative as ours, we shouldn’t have to wonder how our senator will vote when the pressure’s on,” Letlow added. “Louisiana deserves conservative champions, leaders who will not flinch.”
Cassidy is being challenged by multiple GOP candidates in the Republican primary after he voted to convict Trump on impeachment charges after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
He was one of seven Republican senators who supported the impeachment effort that ultimately failed and said Letlow called him on Tuesday to inform him of her decision.
“She said she respected me and that I had done a good job. I will continue to do a good job when I win re-election,” Cassidy said in a social media post.
“I am a conservative who wakes up every morning thinking about how to make Louisiana and the United States a better place to live,” he added.
The primary challenge will undergo a new system in Louisiana, which will hold a closed Republican primary on May 16 and a runoff in June if no candidate secures a majority of votes.