Trump-backed Julia Letlow faces John Fleming in Louisiana GOP Senate runoff

By — Thomas Beaumont, Associated Press Thomas Beaumont, Associated Press By — Jack Brook, Associated Press Jack Brook, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-backed-julia-letlow-faces-john-fleming-in-louisiana-gop-senate-runoff Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Trump-backed Julia Letlow faces John Fleming in Louisiana GOP Senate runoff Politics Jun 27, 2026 6:10 PM EDT BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — President Donald Trump's preferred candidate for U.S. Senate in Louisiana is looking to clinch the GOP nomination Saturday and deliver another win for the president, who has sought to replace Republicans who cross him with hand-picked loyalists. U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow, who was endorsed by Trump, and state Treasurer John Fleming are competing in the runoff. The two finished ahead of Sen. Bill Cassidy in the May 16 primary after Trump denounced the two-term senator, who voted to convict him following his 2021 impeachment. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. A Letlow victory would cap Trump's primary efforts to unseat Republicans who have not been in lockstep with him. Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, Texas Sen. John Cornyn and five Indiana state senators all lost reelection bids last month to challengers he backed. Letlow was elected to the House in 2021 after her husband, Luke Letlow, won the same seat but died before taking office. She received Trump's backing before entering the primary race in January. She finished first in the primary with nearly 45% of the vote, compared with about 28% for Fleming and nearly 25% for Cassidy. "We have a chance to send a clear message that Louisiana stands with President Trump," Letlow said Thursday in an online rally with the president. "He endorsed me because he knows I will stand with him." For some, Trump's endorsement was all that mattered. "Trump's lady all the way," said Barbara Dufrene, 67, of Marrero. She added that she knew little about Letlow but was counting on the president to lower her healthcare costs and increase her social safety net. "I always vote whatever Trump wants." Letlow has big advantages Letlow's success on May 16, campaign spending on her behalf and support from prominent Republicans have her well positioned in the runoff. She was also endorsed by Gov. Jeff Landry, who consulted with Trump last year about her running for Senate, and U.S. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise. Last month Letlow won in parishes from the state's rural north to the New Orleans area in the southeast. She carried six of the 13 parishes that Fleming formerly represented in the U.S. House, including Caddo Parish, which includes Shreveport. READ MORE: Live Results: Louisiana midterm primary runoffs Fleming, a founder of the conservative House Freedom Caucus while in Congress, later worked in Trump's first administration. He has reminded voters