Former Rep. John Fleming (R-La.) is mounting an aggressive right-wing primary challenge to Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), bashing the incumbent as a “Republican in name only” who’s out of touch with the MAGA movement.
Fleming, a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus who currently serves as the Louisiana state treasurer, wants to hit Cassidy for his bipartisan voting record and his 2021 vote to convict President Donald Trump following the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. Cassidy is just one of three Senate Republicans left who voted to convict Trump.
“Sen. Cassidy gets all the benefits of being a Republican in a Republican state, but yet is doing things that enable Democrats to have their way,” Fleming said in an interview.
Cassidy secured Trump’s endorsement in his 2020 race, but the president has since soured on the Louisiana Republican over his impeachment vote.
As recently as last year, Trump slammed Cassidy as “one of the worst senators” and a “disloyal lightweight.” Yet Cassidy hasn’t become an anti-Trump force and, despite his skepticism over HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., he has voted for all of Trump’s Cabinet nominees.
Fleming, who says he wants to earn Trump’s endorsement, insisted that Cassidy’s vote to convict Trump following Jan. 6 is an “insurmountable” obstacle in a GOP primary.
“Had he been successful along with the other Republicans who voted to convict, Trump would not have been able to run for reelection,” Fleming said.
The four-term House member also slammed Cassidy for supporting the bipartisan infrastructure bill. Cassidy has touted his work negotiating the legislation.
But Fleming said there are parts of the bill that Cassidy hides that support Democrats’ social and green agenda.
“We’re not seeing any broad transition of our infrastructure at all,” Fleming said. “It was sold as one thing and turned out to be something else as a bait-and-switch type of thing.”
Louisiana is conducting closed primaries this cycle, a new statewide development that Fleming thinks will benefit his candidacy.
Some Louisiana Republicans don’t want to touch the campaign at all. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) ditched his usually chatty demeanor when asked to weigh in on Fleming’s challenge.
“I don’t have anything for you on that. That’s two years from now,” Kennedy told us.
Fleming has also picked up some early support among his former House colleagues. Reps. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), Scott Perry (R-Pa.) and Marlin Stutzman (R-Ind.), three HFC members, have backed him against Cassidy. Of course, none of them are considered to be hugely influential figures in Louisiana politics.
It’s important to note that Cassidy is crushing Fleming in fundraising. Cassidy ended 2024 with more than $6.5 million on hand, while Fleming’s campaign was almost $530,000 in debt and only raised roughly $6,300 in the fourth quarter. A recent Morning Consult poll found that 69% of Louisiana Republicans approve of Cassidy’s job performance.
When asked about Fleming’s challenge against him, Cassidy also shrugged off the reality as “it is what it is.”
“We’re doing everything that we need to do to win decisively,” Cassidy said.
