(AFP) – A US senator from Louisiana bidding for a third term has lost his Republican primary, in the latest demonstration of US President Donald Trump’s hold over his party. Trump had targeted Bill Cassidy and endorsed an opponent in retaliation for the senator voting to impeach him five years ago.
With 99 percent of votes counted in Saturday’s primary election, Cassidy was trailing in third place behind Trump-endorsed challenger Julia Letlow, a congresswoman, and state treasurer John Fleming, effectively shutting Cassidy out of a June 27 runoff. “Congratulations to Congresswoman Julia Letlow on a fantastic race, beating an Incumbent Senator by Record Setting Numbers,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
The 79-year-old president was also quick to celebrate Cassidy’s fall, writing: “His disloyalty to the man who got him elected is now a part of legend, and it’s nice to see that his political career is OVER!” Cassidy delivered some pointed remarks in his concession speech. Without mentioning Trump by name, the lawmaker said American politicians, when they lose a race, don’t whine and “don’t claim that the election was stolen.”
“Our country is not about one individual, it is about the welfare of all Americans,” he said. “And if someone doesn’t understand that, and attempts to control others through using the levers of power, they are about serving themselves; they’re not about serving us.”
– ‘Vote the bum out’ –
Trump on Sunday swiftly turned his attention to another major Republican nemesis in Congress, Kentucky’s Thomas Massie, who is seeking an eighth term in the House of Representatives but faces a closely-watched primary against a Trump-endorsed challenger. The president lashed out at Massie — who recently co-sponsored a resolution to stop the US involvement in the Iran war — calling him a “negative force.”
“Kentucky, vote the bum out on Tuesday,” Trump posted. “We can’t live with this troublemaker for another two years.” Trump’s standing nationally has weakened amid economic frustration and divisions among Republicans over Iran. But among the deeply conservative voters who dominate Republican primaries, his influence remains formidable.
Early this month in Indiana, which neighbors Kentucky, voters ousted five of seven state Republican incumbents who were targeted for refusing to support the president’s call to redraw election maps in favor of his party ahead of this year’s midterm elections. Cassidy’s loss was another example of that undeniable command Trump still has on the Republican base.
In addition to being one of seven Republican senators to vote in favor of impeaching Trump in 2021, Cassidy served as the key vote to confirm Trump’s pick for health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. A medical doctor by training, Cassidy has since criticized Kennedy’s actions, including changing vaccine recommendations for US children, saying doing so would “make America sicker.”
All eyes now turn to Tuesday’s primary featuring Massie, a hardcore conservative who has feuded with Trump on multiple issues, but who still claims the backing of right-to-life groups and the powerful gun lobby. Massie said Sunday on ABC News show “This Week,” after Trump’s jibes, that outside billionaires were pouring money into the race “trying to buy a seat” for Trump.
“They’re desperate,” Massie said. “That’s why the president’s losing sleep and tweeting about this.”
© 2024 AFP
