OPINION:
As we approach the midterm elections next November, the No. 1 priority for congressional Republicans is to grow or, at very least, maintain their majorities in the House and Senate and deny Trump-deranged Democrats the opportunity to again abuse their power and impeach the president for no reason.
Although the 2026 Senate map doesn’t look overly daunting for Republicans’ prospects, some factors shouldn’t be taken lightly. Case in point: the notion that Democrats’ only chance to win a Senate seat in the South this election cycle is in North Carolina. Although the Tar Heel State will have a hard-fought contest between two talented and well-funded candidates (former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley and former Gov. Roy Cooper), the Republican Party would be foolish to overlook what might be brewing in Louisiana.
At first glance, two-term Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy might appear safe in his quest for a third term, but danger lurks under the surface in the form of John Bel Edwards, a Democrat who served as governor of the Pelican State from 2016 to 2024. Washington Democrats would like nothing more than to score another recruitment success with Mr. Edwards after getting Mr. Cooper into the race in North Carolina. If Mr. Edwards ultimately enters the race in Louisiana, the campaign against Mr. Cassidy would become competitive in the blink of an eye.
Mr. Edwards would attempt to peel off some Republican voters from the eventual Republican nominee, as he did in his races for governor, and Mr. Cassidy’s well-known shortcomings with his conservative base would exacerbate an issue that could be avoided. On his Wikipedia page, Mr. Cassidy is described as “a moderate Republican” and a critic of President Trump. In ruby-red Louisiana, to be known for this is horrendous. When you consider that Mr. Trump carried the state by wide margins in all three of his presidential campaigns, it’s easy to conclude that Mr. Cassidy is not representing his constituents well.
It’s no secret that Mr. Trump’s strong leadership style has been a good fit with Louisianans. Voters there feel comfortable knowing the president will always protect their God-given rights and liberties, no matter what. Despite this, it’s obvious that Mr. Cassidy has never been comfortable with Mr. Trump, the ultimate political outsider and steel-spined conservative change agent. Mr. Cassidy questioned Mr. Trump’s electability as early as May 2016, bolstering the fake news media’s phony narrative by remarking, “I’m not sure Mr. Trump will win, but we’ll have to see.”
After the controversial 2020 presidential election, which was dominated by fraud-prone mail-in voting, Mr. Cassidy voted to impeach Mr. Trump, along with the likes of left-wing stalwarts Sens. Charles E. Schumer and Elizabeth Warren, after the president left office. Mr. Cassidy ignored exculpatory evidence, such as Mr. Trump’s Jan. 6, 2021, speech, in which he told supporters to go to the Capitol “to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.” Hardly an incitement of insurrection, but that didn’t stop Mr. Cassidy from siding with Trump-hating career politicians and swamp creatures in Congress.
To make matters worse, Mr. Cassidy voted “Yea” even though Mr. Trump was afforded absolutely no due process by the House, where the impeachment vote was held just two days after the article of impeachment was introduced. The anti-American, undemocratic circus happened without a single hearing where Mr. Trump could have mounted a strong defense and cross-examined witnesses.
The entire ordeal was so corrupt that it would have made a tin-pot dictator from a banana republic blush. None of it fazed Mr. Cassidy; he just wanted to stick it to Mr. Trump, and he did.
Mr. Cassidy was also far from thrilled with Mr. Trump’s comeback against all odds, which was the greatest political return in U.S. history. In August 2023, fake news stronghold NBC News gleefully ran the headline “GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy says Trump should drop out of the 2024 presidential race.” In the story, Mr. Cassidy described the weaponized Biden Justice Department’s ultrapoliticized classified documents case against Mr. Trump as “almost a slam dunk.” (This was the case in which Mr. Trump’s house was raided. It was later completely thrown out by a federal judge. Some slam dunk, Mr. Cassidy.)
In March 2024, Mr. Cassidy went on far-left NBC News’ “Meet the Press” to label the presidential race between Mr. Trump and President Biden a “sorry state of affairs,” despite polls showing Mr. Trump faring extraordinarily well in the rematch. Even as late as September 2024, when it was all on the line for America with the unthinkable disaster of a potential Kamala Harris presidency, Mr. Cassidy was prominently mentioned in a news report titled “Why these 7 Republican senators still aren’t endorsing Trump.”
Fast-forward to today, and Mr. Cassidy still can’t help but grandstand at Senate hearings, causing political heartburn for Mr. Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over the COVID-19 vaccination. For someone like Mr. Cassidy, who knows he is walking a tightrope in a reelection campaign, playing a cheap “gotcha” game with a valued member of the president’s Cabinet on live TV is political malpractice. It also shows his true colors.
For Senate Republicans in Washington and conservatives across Louisiana, more of Mr. Cassidy isn’t the only path forward. In fact, there is a way to keep Louisiana in the “safe seat” column regardless of whether Mr. Edwards runs: with the entry into the race of a trusted, well-known conservative and 100% pro-Trump candidate, such as three-term Rep. Julia Letlow.
This move could force Mr. Cassidy to retire or face a monumental embarrassment in Louisiana’s newly closed primary system. Polling data suggests Republican voters in Louisiana have a good appetite for a superior conservative option to Mr. Cassidy, particularly one who wouldn’t vote to impeach the president. A Letlow candidacy would solidify the conservative base, energize MAGA voters and essentially put the race away.
Louisianans deserve two rock-solid, conservative senators who are enthusiastically pro-Trump and “America First.” Sadly, Mr. Cassidy has become the living embodiment of the Republican officeholder who doesn’t realize (or doesn’t care) that Democrats are actively trying to destroy Mr. Trump, eviscerate the Constitution and fundamentally transform America into the world’s next failed socialist state.
Mr. Trump could use another conservative warrior in the Senate.
• David N. Bossie is the president of Citizens United. He served as a senior adviser to the Trump 2024 and 2020 campaigns. He served as deputy campaign manager for Donald J. Trump for President in 2016 and deputy executive director for the Trump transition team.
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