U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy has no plans of ending his re-election bid, even though President Donald Trump is encouraging Congresswoman Julia Letlow to run for Senate and said he will support her candidacy. Political analyst Bernie Pinsonat says a Trump endorsement does not guarantee that candidate a win. He says the President endorsed Republican Eddie Rispone in the 2019 governor’s race.
“If I were Cassidy, he’s going to point out ‘So what? That doesn’t mean that I’m going to lose because of Trump.’ He didn’t make any kind of difference in the governor’s race,” Pinsonat said.
Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards was able to beat Rispone in the 2019 governor’s race, despite President Trump making multiple visits to Louisiana in support of Rispone. Pinsonat says Trump’s endorsement for Letlow is a blow to Cassidy’s re-election campaign, but it is a hurdle he can overcome.
“He even pointed out that Eddie Rispone got the president’s endorsement. He came into Louisiana campaigning for him, and yet Eddie Rispone lost. So, all is not lost,” Pinsonat said.
Trump announced his endorsement of Letlow on Saturday night. Cassidy responded with his own statement. The Baton Rouge Republican said he is confident he will win if Congresswoman Letlow decides to run. Pinsonat says Cassidy is not backing down, despite the President’s potential influence over the U.S. Senate race.
“I think he’s made up his mind, ‘No matter what happens I’m running. No matter what the president does, I’m running.’ So I think Cassidy has set the tone for ‘Whatever happens, I’m saying in this race,"” Pinsonat said.
Cassidy is also well funded as his campaign has $11 million in cash and had a major fundraising event last week in Baton Rouge that raised $650,000.