Rep. Julia Letlow is seriously considering mounting a primary challenge against Sen. Bill Cassidy, her fellow Louisiana Republican, according to three GOP sources familiar with the matter. And she has received encouragement from the White House to jump into the race, two sources said.
Letlow, 44, has been weighing her options carefully over the past few months but has not put a timeline on making a decision, though sources say she has grown more serious about the idea of running for the Senate.
Multiple MAGA-aligned candidates are already vying to take on Cassidy, who voted to convict President Donald Trump on impeachment charges following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Cassidy, a physician, has recently been in the spotlight taking on Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccine policy.
But even with a trio of Republican candidates already in the race, Letlow, who was seen meeting with a GOP megadonor this week at the Capitol Hill Club, has been the subject of recruiting efforts.
She could be a formidable challenger to Cassidy — especially if she has Trump’s backing. One of the GOP sources said the White House has assured Letlow that its support would be there if she chooses to jump into the race.
Letlow's office declined to comment. The White House also declined requests for comment.
Asked whether he is worried about losing his Senate seat after a high-profile hearing with the recently fired director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week, Cassidy told NBC News: “I’m not thinking about that. I mean, I’m just not. If you do the right thing, that’s what I’m hired for. I’m going to do the right thing.”
Last week, Letlow pulled herself out of the running for a top leadership job at Louisiana State University, further fueling speculation that she was leaning toward the Senate race.
A House Republican who is close to Letlow said that while she has been giving serious consideration to running for the Senate, she still has some reservations about giving up her House seat and her coveted position on the powerful Appropriations Committee. She is also cognizant of how much money it would take to defeat Cassidy, who has backing from Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Tim Scott of South Carolina.
Trump’s endorsement would make Letlow’s path a lot clearer. He has yet to wade into the race and is waiting to see how the field develops, according to two of the GOP sources. The sources also said the White House was concerned that Trump’s getting involved in the primary, especially too early on, could alienate Cassidy, who chairs a key committee and has provided some pivotal votes for the GOP this year — including to confirm Kennedy to his Cabinet post.
Three other Republicans are already seeking Cassidy's seat in 2026: state Treasurer John Fleming, a former member of Congress; state Sen. Blake Miguez; and state Public Service Commissioner Eric Skrmetta, a former co-chairman of Trump’s presidential campaigns in Louisiana.
If Letlow were to jump in, “she would jump to the top of the pack very, very quickly,” said Louisiana Republican strategist James Hartman, who is not involved in the Senate race.
“She has extremely good name ID and an extremely positive reputation statewide, not just in her district,” Hartman said, noting that her congressional district was recently redrawn to take in parts of Baton Rouge, increasing her profile in a vote-rich part of the state.
Hartman also noted that Letlow's husband’s death in 2020 was statewide news. Luke Letlow won a seat in Congress in November 2020 but died of complications from Covid-19 a month later, before he could take office. Julia Letlow won a special election to replace him in Congress. She was a vocal supporter of the Covid vaccines, urging skeptical Republicans to get vaccinated.
Hartman said he did not believe that advocacy would be a problem in the primary among conservative voters who may be more critical of vaccines, saying, “I think all of her positives overcome that.”
Still, some question whether Trump will ultimately back a candidate against Cassidy, given his important position in Congress.
“With Sen. Cassidy chairing an important Senate committee, I’m not convinced President Trump would want to make an endorsement,” said Louisiana pollster John Couvillon, who said he has worked with Fleming, Letlow and Miguez in the past.
Even if Trump stays out of the race, Cassidy has still faced questions about his support for Trump after he joined six other Senate Republicans to convict him in his 2021 impeachment trial.
And this election, Louisiana has implemented a more traditional primary system for congressional races, in which candidates must compete in a closed party vote for their parties’ nominations. If no candidate wins a majority of the vote, the primary is decided in a runoff between the top two vote-getters.
