Bill Cassidy, who was one of seven Republican senators voting to convict President Trump at his 2021 impeachment trial, is seeking another term.
Louisiana state Rep. Julie Emerson announced Monday that she will run against U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), becoming the latest challenger in the state’s first Republican primary in 50 years.
Multiple candidates have stepped forward to try to defeat Cassidy next year, as the second-term moderate senator still faces a party backlash from voting to convict President Donald Trump four years ago.
“There’s reason to believe the future can be brighter than the past,” Emerson, 37, said in a video posted on Oct. 27. “The light is returning, the future is calling, and I’m uniquely prepared to lead America toward it.”
At age 27, the small-business owner was the youngest Republican woman elected to the state’s legislature. She said she believes in cleaning up America’s food, bringing jobs and industry back home, building roads and bridges, a strong military, and making sure “the first flag on Mars is American, not Chinese.”
Cassidy, 68, a medical doctor who has been in office since 2015, has a complicated relationship with Trump.
He was one of seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump in 2021 after the president was accused by Democrats of allegedly “inciting insurrection.” In a press release at the time, Cassidy said he felt Trump was guilty and that the U.S. Constitution and the country were “more important than any one person.”
Trump had already left office when the impeachment trial was initiated by then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
Cassidy was censured by Louisiana’s Republican Party for his impeachment vote, but has achieved a moderate comeback with the state’s citizens.
A Morning Consult poll released in January showed Cassidy had a 69 percent approval rating among home-state Republicans. His opponents, however, are featuring his impeachment vote strongly in their campaign to unseat him.
Also, only 27 percent of Republicans in his state “strongly approved” of him in the poll, revealing some weakness with the party’s base voters.
