Senator Bill Cassidy lost his bid for a third term on May 16, 2026, finishing third in the Louisiana Republican Senate primary. Before the loss, the Bill Cassidy campaign attempted to frame the process as flawed, issuing a 'Red Alert' regarding voter disenfranchisement that failed to sway the electorate.
On The Bulwark Podcast, Tim Miller framed the loss as an inevitable consequence of Bill Cassidy's history with Donald Trump. Miller noted that Cassidy 'goes down, basically only wins some districts around New Orleans,' suggesting even his remaining supporters were 'holding their nose and voting for him.'
In the wake of his defeat, Bill Cassidy immediately pivoted, voting on May 19, 2026, to force Donald Trump to withdraw from the war in Iran. He has signaled he will spend his final months in office pushing for a fee on polluting imports, a move that suggests he is no longer concerned with maintaining favor among the primary base that just ousted him.
