社区黑料

It only took about a minute for Sen. Bill Cassidy to get choked up earlier this month during a . Joined by parents who, like him, struggled to find educators trained to teach their children to read, the two-term Louisiana Republican fought back tears. 

鈥淚t is painful,鈥� he said, 鈥渁nd some of you have moved two to three times to find a school for your child.鈥�

His passion for the issue was one of the reasons he wanted to chair the education committee when Republicans took control of the Senate in 2024. That same year, he issued pointing to the nation鈥檚 sagging performance in reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress and advocated for more phonics-based instruction. His staff is now working on a far-reaching literacy bill that would ensure federal funds are spent on the programs that follow the science of reading.

But Cassidy might not be in Congress to see the culmination of his efforts. In his race for re-election, he faces three primary challengers, including Rep. Julie Letlow, who, unlike Cassidy, has secured President Donald Trump鈥檚 endorsement. 

Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming and Mark Spencer, who calls himself a 鈥済uns and Bible conservative鈥� are also on the ballot May 16, but the real race is between Cassidy, Fleming and Letlow. the vote could be close.

鈥淭his is a three-way race and anything can happen,鈥� said Robert Hogan, a political scientist at Louisiana State University. It鈥檚 rare for an incumbent senator to lose in a primary. The last one was moderate Republican of Indiana in 2012. At this point, Hogan said, there鈥檚 no guarantee Cassidy will even get to a runoff.

The first sign that Cassidy鈥檚 bid for a third term was in trouble came when he voted in 2021 to of inciting an insurrection on Jan. 6 that year. 鈥淭he country is more important than any one person,鈥� he said in a brief statement at the time. As Trump eyed his return to the White House, Louisiana lawmakers in 2024 changed the election law so that only registered party members or those who are unaffiliated can vote in a party鈥檚 primary. Previously, open primaries allowed Cassidy to pick up support from voters on the left. 

The move, Hogan said, was meant to squeeze out so-called RINOS, or Republicans-in-name-only. To MAGA Republicans, Bill Cassidy hasn鈥檛 been loyal enough. 

Gov. Jeff Landry, who , has complained that Cassidy supported 鈥渓iberal Obama judges鈥� and listened to 鈥淣ever Trumpers.鈥� While Cassidy, a physician, voted to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of Health and Human Services, he continues to express disagreement with Kennedy鈥檚 statements that cast doubt on vaccine safety.

鈥淟ife is lived forward, and so what I have to do is do my best to reassure the American people that vaccines are safe,鈥� he last fall without answering whether he regretted voting in favor of the secretary鈥檚 nomination. The two clashed again over vaccine research when Kennedy testified before the committee. Those who support Kennedy鈥檚 positions on public health issues are .

鈥楾he same language鈥�

On other issues, the incumbent continues to voice his allegiance to Trump鈥檚 agenda. He launched an investigation into Massachusetts over allowing a trans female to compete on a girls鈥� track team. The president 鈥渟igned an executive order to restore fairness for women and girls. I’m demanding that states comply,鈥� he posted on X.

Following Trump鈥檚 State of the Union address in February, all the ways he has 鈥渨orked with President Trump.鈥� But to Trump, it appears, the vote to impeach is all that matters.

鈥淭his administration is completely blinded by their need for retribution at any cost,鈥� said Keri Rodrigues, president of the National Parents Union, who has been pushing for updating federal policy on literacy. Cassidy, she said, is 鈥�100% principally aligned鈥� with what Education Secretary Linda McMahon wants to accomplish, but the administration 鈥渄oesn鈥檛 think very strategically around those things.鈥�

Three years ago, Rodrigues didn鈥檛 consider Cassidy an ally. 

He was among the five GOP senators in late 2022 who objected to her involvement in a parent council launched by former Education Secretary Miguel Cardona. The organizations chosen to participate, they argued, were 鈥渓iberal advocacy groups鈥� out to 鈥渘ationalize our education systems.鈥� 

But Rodrigues and Cassidy found common ground on solving the nation鈥檚 literacy crisis. He has greeted busloads of parents that the advocacy organization has brought to Capitol Hill over the years to share their stories.聽

鈥淚t was almost like he connected with his people,鈥� she said, 鈥渂ecause they all spoke the same language.鈥�

Letlow, first elected to the House in 2020, has also focused on parents鈥� concerns. she backed in 2023 aimed to give parents more say over curriculum and library materials, require schools to notify parents about violent incidents at schools and increase transparency into district budgets. The bill passed the House, but never received a vote in the Senate.

A former university administrator, Letlow supports Trump鈥檚 plan to . But her stance on diversity, equity and inclusion before she entered politics gave Cassidy a reason to question whether she鈥檚 sufficiently loyal to Trump.

Conservative news outlets dug up a of Letlow interviewing to be president of the University of Louisiana at Monroe in which she said it was 鈥渟hameful鈥� that the institution didn鈥檛 have more women faculty members. While she didn鈥檛 get the job, she said establishing a DEI office would have been one of her first moves. 

She has since , saying that DEI efforts were 鈥渉ijacked by the radical left and turned into indoctrination.鈥�

Fleming, a former Congressman and then Trump adviser, as a 鈥減roven MAGA conservative鈥� who didn鈥檛 鈥渃ut and run鈥� from the administration after Jan. 6.

The Louisiana Senate seat is considered safe for Republicans. Whoever emerges as the party鈥檚 nominee is expected to win the general election in November. But neither Letlow nor Fleming would be in line to chair the education committee. 

If Cassidy loses and the GOP stays in control of the Senate, that job would likely go to Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, said David Cleary, a former Republican education staffer for the Senate and now a principal with The Group, a Washington lobbying firm. 

Those with more seniority than her would be highly unlikely to give up their current leadership posts, Cleary said. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky chairs the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, if she wins re-election in November, 鈥渨ould never鈥� leave her position as chair of the appropriations committee, he said.

Murkowski, considered a GOP moderate, to shutter the Education Department. In March, she with Cassidy to make it easier for students to find funds for college. 

But the window to get a literacy bill passed could close if Cassidy doesn鈥檛 return to the Senate next year, said Rodrigues with the National Parents Union. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be kind of back to the drawing board.鈥�

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