2026年5月17日 美国东部时间凌晨12:34 / CNN政治频道
作者：帕特里克·斯维特克
更新于2026年5月17日 美国东部时间凌晨12:48
路易斯安那州联邦参议员比尔·卡西迪2026年5月16日在路易斯安那州巴吞鲁日的布多克斯餐饮活动中向支持者发表讲话，承认自己在党内初选中失利。
迈克尔·德莫克尔/盖蒂图片社
路易斯安那州共和党参议员比尔·卡西迪原本希望自己的连任竞选围绕“当下与未来”展开。唐纳德·特朗普总统却另有打算。
卡西迪在特朗普第二次弹劾案中投下定罪票的五年后，这位参议员在连任初选中输给了特朗普背书的挑战者——以及另一位同样支持特朗普的挑战者。获得特朗普支持的众议员朱莉娅·莱特洛和路易斯安那州州财政部长约翰·弗莱明将进入决选。
卡西迪成为近十年来首位在党内初选中失去连任资格的共和党参议员，这场引人瞩目的垮台再次证明了特朗普对共和党掌控力之强。
卡西迪在败选演讲中未提及特朗普，但他暗示，在任期剩余的几个月里，他可能会更频繁地给特朗普制造麻烦，或者至少会更公开地批评本党。
“让我澄清一下：我们的国家不是关于某一个人的，而是关于所有美国人的福祉，以及我们的宪法，”卡西迪说道。“如果有人不理解这一点，试图利用权力杠杆控制他人，那他们是在为自己谋私利。他们不是在为我们服务。这样的人不配担任领导人。”
以下是路易斯安那州初选夜带来的几点启示：
特朗普对共和党掌控力
卡西迪曾试图淡化自己的弹劾投票，宣扬自己与特朗普合作良好，并指出特朗普签署了多项他参与推动的法案。但卡西迪无法回避一个现实：在弹劾案中反对特朗普，已成为共和党选民以及特朗普本人对政客的永久性试金石。
莱特洛、弗莱明和特朗普都频繁提及这一投票事件，而特朗普尤其耿耿于怀：卡西迪在自己上次连任竞选时获得了他的支持，后者却投票定罪。
“他背叛了帮助他当选的人，这已经成了人尽皆知的事，很高兴看到他的政治生涯结束了！”特朗普周六晚间在社交媒体上写道。
通过背书莱特洛对抗卡西迪，特朗普在其非凡的政治生涯中首次实现了一项成就：在初选中击败本党参议员。此举正值他试图在周二的众议院初选中击败国会中最大的共和党异见人士之一——肯塔基州众议员托马斯·马西。
特朗普迅速将卡西迪和马西联系起来。周日凌晨，他在Truth Social上发帖称，马西“比卡西迪更让国家难堪”，并重申支持马西的初选挑战者埃德·加尔雷恩。
卡西迪选择了一条少有人走的路
特朗普此前一直未能击败共和党参议员，原因之一是他早期的党内批评者选择不寻求连任，以免在初选中遭到他的报复，北卡罗来纳州参议员汤姆·蒂利斯就是最近的例子。而卡西迪明确表示，他不会不战而降。
在败选演讲中，他表示自己无怨无悔。
支持者赫克托·萨迪手持写有“路易斯安那优先”的标牌，2026年5月16日在路易斯安那州巴吞鲁日的选举之夜观选活动中聆听参议员比尔·卡西迪讲话。
杰拉尔德·赫伯特/美联社
“我能够参与民主进程，”他说，“而当你参与民主进程时，有时结果并不尽如人意。”
卡西迪的败选可能给另一位曾惹怒特朗普、仍坚持参与连任竞选的共和党参议员敲响警钟：邻州得克萨斯州的参议员约翰·科宁。但与路易斯安那州不同的是，特朗普并未介入科宁和得克萨斯州总检察长肯·帕克斯顿之间的竞争，该竞争将在5月26日的决选中决出结果。
一场引人关注的决选
随着卡西迪退出竞争，莱特洛和弗莱明之间的决选带来了新的疑问：特朗普在路易斯安那州的支持者更青睐哪位候选人来接任这个席位。
尽管莱特洛在决选开局时被视为热门人选，但弗莱明在初选中展现出了韧性，他将自己塑造成真正的亲特朗普候选人。他曾是国会议员，在特朗普第一任期内曾在白宫任职。
值得注意的是，在周六上午初选开始时，特朗普在社交媒体帖子中称两位挑战者都是“很棒的人选”。
莱特洛在初选夜的演讲中表示，她不会对决选掉以轻心，并承诺将再次走遍全州。特朗普对决选的表态则稍显轻佻，但明确表示仍坚定支持莱特洛。
“朱莉娅·莱特洛是个很棒的人，在处理完一些额外事务后，她将成为路易斯安那州伟大民众的出色参议员，”他在社交媒体上写道。
卡西迪将放开手脚？
蒂利斯在决定不寻求连任后，对特朗普政府的批评愈发直言不讳。最近，他阻挠了特朗普对凯文·瓦尔什的美联储主席提名，以此向司法部施压，要求其撤销对时任美联储主席杰伊·鲍威尔的调查。
周六晚间，卡西迪表示国家“不是关于某一个人的”，并将自己与那些更关心自身利益而非选民的“领导人”进行对比。他还提到自己“在互联网上遭到攻击”的经历，而就在几分钟前，特朗普刚刚发帖抨击他不忠诚。
2026年5月16日，参议员比尔·卡西迪在路易斯安那州巴吞鲁日的布多克斯餐饮活动中向支持者拥抱致意，此前他承认自己在初选中失利。
迈克尔·德莫克尔/盖蒂图片社
“只有来自品格高尚、正直无私之人的侮辱才会让我在意，”卡西迪说，“我发现，品格高尚、正直无私的人不会把时间花在互联网上攻击他人。”
在演讲的早些时候，卡西迪在赞扬民主的同时，明显另有所指地提及了特朗普及其否认2020年大选失利的言论。
“你不会赌气，不会抱怨，不会声称选举被窃取……你不会编造借口，”卡西迪说，“你会感谢选民给予你代表该州或国家的特权，无论你担任这一职务多久。而我现在正在做的就是这件事。”
Trump sent a message by targeting Bill Cassidy. In defeat, Cassidy delivered one back
May 17, 2026 12:34 AM ET / CNN Politics
By Patrick Svitek
Updated May 17, 2026, 12:48 AM ET
Senator Bill Cassidy addresses his supporters as he concedes his primary election contest during an event at Boudreaux’s Caterers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on May 16, 2026.
Michael DeMocker/Getty Images
Louisiana Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy wanted his reelection campaign to be about the “present and the future.” President Donald Trump had other plans.
Five years after Cassidy voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment, the senator lost his primary for reelection to a Trump-endorsed challenger – and a second challenger who also embraced Trump. Trump-backed Rep. Julia Letlow and Louisiana State Treasurer John Fleming are now headed to a runoff.
Cassidy became the first GOP senator to lose renomination in close to a decade, a remarkable downfall that shows again how Trump dominates the party.
Cassidy signaled in his concession speech, without mentioning Trump, that he could spend the final months of his term being more of a thorn in Trump’s side – or at least more openly critical of his party.
“Let me just set the record straight: Our country is not about one individual. It is about the welfare of all Americans and it is about our Constitution,” Cassidy said. “And if someone doesn’t understand that and attempts to control others through using the levers of power, they’re about serving themselves. They’re not about serving us. And that person is not qualified to be a leader.”
Here are our takeaways from primary night in Louisiana:
Trump’s grip on the party
Cassidy had sought to paper over his impeachment vote by touting a good working relationship with Trump, noting Trump signed four bills in which he had a big role. But Cassidy could not overcome the reality that siding against Trump on impeachment has become a lasting litmus test for GOP voters – and for the president.
Letlow, Fleming and Trump brought up the issue regularly, and Trump was especially aggrieved that Cassidy voted to convict him after Trump backed him in his last reelection bid.
“His disloyalty to the man who got him elected is now a part of legend, and it’s nice to see that his political career is OVER!” Trump wrote Saturday night on social media.
In backing Letlow against Cassidy, Trump achieved something he has not done yet in his extraordinary political career: defeat a senator from his own party in a primary. It came as he looks to unseat one of the biggest GOP mavericks in Congress — Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie — in a House primary Tuesday.
Trump was quick to draw a connection between Cassidy and Massie. In a Truth Social post early Sunday morning, Trump said Massie “is an even bigger insult to our Nation than” Cassidy and reiterated support for Massie’s primary challenger, Ed Gallrein.
Cassidy takes road less traveled
One of the reasons that Trump has not defeated a Republican senator until now is because his earlier intraparty critics chose not to seek reelection rather than face his wrath in a primary, with North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis being the most recent example. Cassidy made clear early on that he would not go out without a fight.
In his concession speech, he said he had no regrets.
Supporter Hector Saddy holds a sign reading “LOUISIANA FIRST” as Sen. Bill Cassidy speaks to supporters during an election night watch party in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on May 16, 2026.
Gerald Herbert/AP
“I’ve been able to participate in democracy,” he said, “and when you participate in democracy, sometimes it doesn’t turn out the way you want it to.”
Cassidy’s defeat could be a warning sign to another Senate Republican who’s previously irked Trump and has forged ahead with a challenging reelection bid: Sen. John Cornyn in neighboring Texas. But unlike in Louisiana, Trump has stayed out of the contest between Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, which will be resolved in a May 26 runoff.
An intriguing runoff
With Cassidy out of the picture, the runoff between Letlow and Fleming raises new questions about who the president’s supporters in Louisiana prefer for the seat.
While Letlow starts the overtime round as the favorite, Fleming proved to be resilient in the primary as he pitched himself as the true pro-Trump candidate. He is a former congressman who worked in the White House during Trump’s first term.
Notably, Trump referred to both challengers as “two great people” in a social media post as the voting in the primary began Saturday morning.
In her primary night speech, Letlow suggested she would not take the runoff for granted, promising to travel throughout the state again. Trump spoke of the runoff a bit more flippantly – while making clear he remained firmly behind Letlow.
“Julia Letlow is a fantastic person and, after taking care of some additional business, will make a brilliant Senator for the Great People of Louisiana,” he wrote on social media.
Cassidy unleashed?
Tillis has been more outspoken about the Trump administration since deciding against seeking reelection. Tillis recently held up Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh to chair the Federal Reserve to pressure the Justice Department to drop its investigation into then-Chair Jay Powell.
Cassidy said Saturday night that the country is “not about one individual” and went on to contrast himself with unnamed “leaders” who are more concerned about themselves than the people they serve. And he brought up his experience of “being attacked on the internet,” speaking minutes before Trump launched his latest broadside against him accusing him of disloyalty.
Senator Bill Cassidy hugs supporters after conceding his primary election contest during an event at Boudreaux’s Caterers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on May 16, 2026.
Michael DeMocker/Getty Images
“Insults only bother me if they come from somebody of character and integrity,” Cassidy said. “I find that people of character and integrity don’t spend their time attacking people on the internet.”
Earlier in his speech, Cassidy made another apparent reference to Trump — and his denial that he lost the 2020 election — while extolling the virtues of democracy.
“You don’t pout, you don’t whine, you don’t claim that the election was stolen … you don’t manufacture some excuse,” Cassidy said. “You thank the voters for the privilege of representing the state or the country for as long as you’ve had that privilege. And that’s what I’m doing right now.”
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