Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., will face at least one primary challenger in 2026, with Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming announcing Wednesday that he will run for the two-term senator’s seat, adding referring to Cassidy’s vote to convict Donald Trump after his 2021 impeachment trial.
Fleming, a former member of Congress, said in a statement that Cassidy “failed the people of Louisiana.”
“A number of Republicans walked away from President Trump in the final year of his first term,” Fleming said in a statement, “but those who turned their backs on him and America First were not committed to his fight to make America great. The citizens of Louisiana did not give up this fight.”
Cassidy campaign spokesman Joe Ramallo told NBC News: “I thought he wanted to be a state trooper? John Fleming wants to leave Louisiana. He publicly said he wanted a job in the Trump administration, and apparently they didn’t want him. So after less than a year as state treasurer, he is looking for another job to return to Washington.
Cassidy has not yet formally announced he is running for re-election, but he told the Shreveport Times last month that he is “obviously working hard on 2026.”
Cassidy was one of three Senate Republicans who voted to convict Trump in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol and who still serve in the chamber, along with Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine , who also stands up. for re-election in 2026. After the House voted to impeach him, the Senate acquitted him.
While Collins represents a vice president from Kamala Harris in last month’s election, Cassidy is up for re-election in ruby-red Louisiana, which backed Trump by 22 points.
Fleming, who overlapped with Cassidy when both men served in the House of Representatives, praised his work as a senior adviser to Trump during the president-elect’s first administration.
“I cannot fully express the deep sense of pride I have having served President Trump in the West Wing of the White House as he literally fought for his political life against those who attacked and turned their backs on him,” said Fleming. , “but the opportunity to stand with him for the principles of America First is why I seek to serve the citizens of Louisiana in the United States Senate.”
Fleming was first elected as Louisiana’s 2023 Treasurer.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
