Jamie Davis, a farmer and former parish official from rural northeast Louisiana, won the Democratic Senate runoff Saturday and will now face a brutal uphill climb in one of the reddest states in America.
Davis defeated Gary Crockett, a New Orleans business owner, in the Democratic runoff to become the party’s nominee for the seat held by Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, according to the Associated Press.
No Louisiana Democrat has won a Senate race in 18 years.
Davis was heavily favored heading into Saturday’s runoff, backed by the state party and a massive campaign cash advantage over Crockett. Now he faces the winner of the GOP runoff between Rep. Julia Letlow — who President Donald Trump endorsed before she even entered the race — and Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming.
“It’s nice to see that his political career is OVER!” — Trump on Cassidy’s defeat
The Republican side delivered the real story: Cassidy, who voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial five years ago, was sent packing in the primary. He finished third behind Letlow and Fleming, becoming the first elected Republican senator to lose renomination since Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar in 2012.
Trump celebrated Cassidy’s defeat on social media, declaring his political career “OVER.”
Cassidy, conceding defeat, took a parting shot at Trump without naming him.
“When you participate in democracy, sometimes it doesn’t turn out the way you want it to,” Cassidy said. “But you don’t pout, you don’t whine. You don’t claim the election was stolen… You don’t manufacture some excuse.”
Letlow, backed by Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, a top Trump ally, won her congressional seat in 2021 after her husband Luke Letlow died six days after being sworn into the U.S. House. She highlighted Trump’s support throughout her Senate campaign, finishing first in the primary double digits ahead of Fleming.
Fleming, who spent eight years in Congress before serving as White House deputy chief of staff during Trump’s first term, argued he was the most conservative candidate in the GOP primary.
The Republican runoff winner will be heavily favored to hold the seat in November.
