Julia Letlow wins Louisiana Republican Senate runoff: AP projects

Representative Julia Letlow has won the Republican primary runoff for the U.S. Senate in Louisiana, according to a projection by the Associated Press. Letlow secured 55% of the vote, defeating state Treasurer John Fleming. The victory positions her as the GOP nominee for the November general election, where she will face Democratic candidate Jamie Davis, who won his party's nomination with 80% of the vote.

Letlow’s campaign was bolstered by an early endorsement from former President Donald Trump, who had previously supported her over incumbent Senator Bill Cassidy, who voted to convict Trump following the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Letlow, who has represented Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District since 2021, has pledged to advance Trump’s policy agenda in the Senate, including support for the Save America Act, a Trump-backed measure aimed at overhauling U.S. election laws.

The runoff followed a May 16 primary in which Letlow received 45% of the vote, the highest among GOP candidates, while Fleming and Cassidy received 28% and 25%, respectively. Letlow’s victory is seen as a strong indicator of her potential success in November, given Louisiana’s historically Republican-leaning electorate and Trump’s 2024 margin of victory in the state.

Fleming, a former Trump administration official, conceded the race, acknowledging the competitiveness of the democratic process. Meanwhile, the broader election landscape in Louisiana has been shaped by recent changes to the primary system and ongoing legal challenges to congressional district boundaries.