BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) – Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming, a Republican and appointed by Donald Trump during his first term as president, has announced he will run for the U.S. Senate in hopes of unseating current member Bill Cassidy, also a Republican. , who is up for re-election in 2026.
In a news release Wednesday, Fleming said U.S. Sen. Cassidy “has failed the people of Louisiana.” He blasted the lawmaker for being one of seven Senate Republicans who joined Democrats to convict Trump in the then-president’s impeachment trial following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
“A number of Republicans left President Trump in the last year of his first term,” Fleming, 73, said. “But those who turned their backs on him and America First were not committed to his fight to make America great.”
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Cassidy, who is in his second term, is running for re-election in reliably red Louisiana, where residents overwhelmingly supported Trump during the past three presidential elections. Although the 67-year-old Cassidy won his last election handily, he did not face another well-known Republican candidate.
Furthermore, the election took place before Cassidy’s vote to convict Trump — a move that led to the lawmaker being trashed and censored on social media by Louisiana Republicans.
Although Cassidy has not yet formally announced that he will seek a third term, Joe Ramallo, a spokesman for the senator, told The Associated Press on Thursday that the Republican has “said several times that he is running for re-election.” the time comes “to focus on the campaign” Cassidy “will see who is still in the race.”
In addition, Cassidy’s team touted his recent work — including meeting with Trump’s pick to lead the Veterans Affairs Department, securing tax credits for victims of natural disasters and “pushing (Senate Leader) Chuck Schumer to hold a vote to to revoke the Windfall Elimination.” Fine and government pension compensation. The policy broadly limits payments to two groups of Social Security recipients: people who also receive a pension from a job not covered by Social Security, and the surviving spouses of Social Security recipients who themselves receive a government pension.
Fleming’s bid marks an early start for his campaign. It is an attempt to return to Capitol Hill, where he served four terms in the US House of Representatives starting in 2009. Rather than seek re-election, Fleming unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the U.S. Senate, losing to then-Treasurer John Kennedy.
After Congress, Fleming served for several years in the Trump administration, including as deputy assistant secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services and as assistant secretary of Commerce for economic development. Last year he was elected Louisiana Treasurer and took office in January 2024.
