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Ongoing story / Louisiana

The 2026 Louisiana Senate race: Bill Cassidy's defeat and Julia Letlow's win

Overview · reviewed November 5, 2026

Louisiana's 2026 Senate race became a test of President Donald Trump's hold on his party. Sen. Bill Cassidy, who voted to convict Trump in his 2021 trial, lost the Republican primary in May, Rep. Julia Letlow, whom Trump endorsed, won the nomination in a June runoff, and she won the seat in November, defeating Democrat Jamie Davis.[1][2][3]

Read the timeline

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Coverage over time

Share of tracked outlets · weekly (UTC)

Week of 2026-01-12 (UTC): 3%, 5 of 191 tracked outlets (1 left, 1 center, 3 right)Week of 2026-01-19 (UTC): 5%, 9 of 170 tracked outlets (2 left, 2 center, 5 right)Week of 2026-01-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-30 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-04 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-11 (UTC): 14%, 25 of 176 tracked outlets (6 left, 9 center, 10 right)Week of 2026-05-18 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-25 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-22 (UTC): 3%, 11 of 415 tracked outlets (5 left, 2 center, 4 right)Week of 2026-06-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-03 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-10 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-24 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-31 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-07 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-14 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-21 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-28 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-19 (UTC): under 1%, 2 of 479 tracked outlets (0 left, 2 center, 0 right)Week of 2026-10-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-11-02 (UTC): 1%, 6 of 471 tracked outlets (1 left, 4 center, 1 right)Week of 2026-11-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outlets, so far

LeftCenterRightLighter bar: this week so far

Each bar is the share of the outlets on our Left / Center / Right rating scale that we tracked publishing that week which carried reporting on this story, split by the outlets' ratings. We track more outlets now than in the archive, so a share keeps earlier and later weeks comparable. An outlet counts once a week however much it published, and outlets in one ownership or syndication group count as one on each side they appear on. A rating describes the outlet, not the report. A gap means no such reports were collected that week, not that nothing was reported anywhere. Weeks run Monday to Sunday in UTC, so a report published on a Sunday evening in US Eastern time counts in the next week. 2 more outlets off the scale (not rated, or outside the left-right graphs) also reported; they are not in this chart. See them.

Weekly counts, outlets and reports (6 weeks with coverage)
Outlets on the rating scale that carried this story each week, of the outlets tracked that week, newest first
Week of (UTC)LeftCenterRightOf trackedShareReceipts
Nov 2, 20261416 of 4711%
Oct 19, 20260202 of 479under 1%
Jun 22, 202652411 of 4153%
May 11, 2026691025 of 17614%
Jan 19, 20262259 of 1705%
Jan 12, 20261135 of 1913%

Latest coverage

The newest reporting in this story's record.

  1. Nov 3, 2026 · first reported · Headline from WGNO New Orleans

    Louisiana Senate race ends in narrow victory for Julia Letlow as Jamie Davis eyes governor’s race

Background

Rep. Julia Letlow of Louisiana announced in January 2026 that she would challenge Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy in the primary, after President Donald Trump endorsed her.[4] Cassidy had voted to convict Trump in his impeachment trial after the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol. In the May 16 primary he finished third, behind Letlow and state Treasurer John Fleming, ending his bid for a third term.[1][5] Letlow, who made Trump's endorsement the centerpiece of her campaign, beat Fleming in the June 27 runoff and became the favorite to win the seat in November,[2][6] which she did.[3]

Supporting stories (6)
  1. Sen. Bill Cassidy loses GOP primary in Louisiana, as two rivals advance to a runoff
  2. Trump-backed Julia Letlow takes victory in Louisiana GOP Senate primary runoff
  3. Republican Julia Letlow wins Louisiana Senate seat
  4. With Trump’s backing, Rep. Julia Letlow launches a primary challenge against Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy
  5. Bill Cassidy loses Louisiana Republican primary to Fleming and Trump-backed Letlow
  6. Trump-backed Letlow faces Fleming in Louisiana GOP Senate runoff

The full record

Each date is when an update was first reported.

All 7 recorded updates

November 2026

  1. Republican Julia Letlow wins Louisiana Senate seatHeadline from WGNO New Orleans · 6 outlets

October 2026

  1. Julia Letlow, Jamie Davis offer different visions for Louisiana in U.S. Senate raceHeadline from BRPROUD Baton Rouge · 2 outlets

June 2026

  1. Trump-backed Julia Letlow takes victory in Louisiana GOP Senate primary runoffHeadline from New York Post · 6 outlets
  2. Trump-backed Letlow faces Fleming in Louisiana GOP Senate runoffHeadline from MyNorthwest · 5 outlets

May 2026

  1. Bill Cassidy loses Louisiana Republican primary to Fleming and Trump-backed LetlowHeadline from Christian Science Monitor · 5 outlets
  2. Sen. Bill Cassidy loses GOP primary in Louisiana, as two rivals advance to a runoffHeadline from NBC News · 23 outlets

January 2026

  1. With Trump’s backing, Rep. Julia Letlow launches a primary challenge against Louisiana Sen. Bill CassidyHeadline from CNN · 11 outlets

Coverage & sources

Read the reports, see how much was collected over time, or compare outlets by political leaning.

Coverage & sources →