Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming announces bid to run for U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy’s seat

By SARA CLINE The Associated Press

FILE - Louisiana State Treasurer John Fleming, waves as he is introduced during the swearing in of the Louisiana state legislature in Baton Rouge, La., Monday, Jan. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, Pool, File)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/Gerald Herbert]

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming, a Republican and appointee of Donald Trump’s during his first term as president, has announced that he will run for U.S. Senate in the hopes of unseating current member Bill Cassidy, also a Republican, who is up for reelection in 2026.

In a news release Wednesday, Fleming said that U.S. Sen. Cassidy “has failed the people of Louisiana.” He lambasted the lawmaker for being one of seven Republicans in Senate who joined Democrats in voting to convict Trump in the then-President’s impeachment trial after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the U.S. Capitol.

“A number of Republicans walked away from President Trump in the last year of his first term,” Fleming, 73, said. “But those who turned their backs on him and America First were not committed to his fight to make America great.”

Cassidy, who is in his second term, is up for reelection in reliably red Louisiana, where residents overwhelmingly supported Trump during the past three presidential elections. While Cassidy, 67, won his last election handily, he did not face another well-known GOP candidate.

In addition, the election occurred before Cassidy’s vote to convict Trump — a move that resulted in the lawmaker being trashed on social media and censured by Louisiana Republicans.

FILE- Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., speaks with reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/J. Scott Applewhite

While Cassidy has not yet formally announced that he will seek a third term, Joe Ramallo, a spokesperson for the senator, told The Associated Press on Thursday that the Republican has said “multiple times that he is running for reelection.” He added that when the time comes “to focus on the campaign” Cassidy “will see who is still in the race.”

In addition, Cassidy’s team touted his recent work — including meeting with Trump’s pick to lead the Veterans Affairs Department, securing tax relief for victims of natural disasters and “pushed (Senate Majority Leader) Chuck Schumer to hold a vote to repeal” the Windfall Elimination Penalty and Government Pension Offset. The policies broadly reduce payments to two groups of Social Security recipients: people who also receive a pension from a job that is not covered by Social Security and surviving spouses of Social Security recipients who receive a government pension of their own.

Fleming’s bid marks an early beginning for his campaign. It is an effort return to Capitol Hill, where he served in the U.S. House for four-terms beginning in 2009. Instead of seeking reelection, Fleming unsuccessfully ran for a U.S. Senate seat, losing to then-Treasurer John Kennedy.

After Congress, Fleming spent several years serving in the Trump administration, including as deputy assistant secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services and as assistant secretary of commerce for economic development. Last year, he was elected to the position of Louisiana Treasurer and assumed office in January 2024.