Rep.Julia Letlow won the Republican primary runoff for Senate in Louisiana, NBC News projects, defeating state Treasurer John Fleming in another victory for President Donald Trump’s slate of preferred candidates.Limited time: Save 25% on NBC News subscriptionGet exclusive reporting, live Q&As and ad-free reading.Trump endorsed Letlow early in the race, which went to a runoff after none of the GOP candidates won a majority of the initial primary vote on May 16.
Trump waded into the state in an effort to oust GOP Sen.Bill Cassidy, who voted to convict Trump on impeachment charges following the Jan.
6, 2021, Capitol riot.See live runoff results hereLetlow was the top vote-getter in the first-round primary, winning 45%, followed by Fleming at 28%.
Cassidy won just 25% and did not qualify for the runoff.Letlow will be in a strong position to win in November in the solidly Republican state, which Trump carried by 22 points in 2024.
Democrat Jamie Davis, a farmer, easily won the Democratic Senate nomination Saturday night.Letlow has pledged to be a strong supporter of the president’s policies.“I promise you this: When I get to the United States Senate, I will never back down from fighting for your America First agenda,” Letlow told the president during a telerally with Trump on Thursday night.
Letlow framed the race as the choice between “a real conservative fighter in the Senate, or whether we are going to send another career politician who does not want to save our country.” She touted her support for eliminating the Senate filibuster to help pass the Save America Act, a Trump-backed measure to overhaul U.S.election laws.
Fleming also tried to make the case that he was the staunchest Trump ally in the race, taking aim at Letlow’s past support for diversity, equity and inclusion policies and foreign aid.Letlow told NBC News earlier this year that she reversed her position on DEI when she “saw it for what it was” and has since been “fighting ...