Thune staying neutral after Cassidy loses shot at Louisiana Senate runoff

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) won’t be taking sides after Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) failed to make a June 27 runoff for his Louisiana Senate seat.

“Not weighing in on that,” Thune told the Washington Examiner when asked if he had a preference between Rep. Julia Letlow (R-LA) and State Treasurer John Fleming, the two candidates who defeated Cassidy in Saturday night’s primary.

“We’ll see how it plays out, but at this point, it’s going to be up to the voters,” Thune said Monday.

As an incumbent, Thune had endorsed Cassidy for reelection and tried to get President Donald Trump on board as well. But the president, upset at Cassidy’s 2021 impeachment vote, instead encouraged Letlow to run and preemptively endorsed her. The race became a referendum on Cassidy’s perceived disloyalty to the president as a result.

On election night, Letlow placed first with 45% of the vote, while Fleming beat