You can add another name to the list of Republican primary challengers for Bill Cassidy’s U.S. Senate seat. New Iberia State Senator Blake Miguez has announced that he is entering the race. The 43-year-old has been in the legislature since 2015, first as a state representative and, since last year, as a state senator. Miguez joins State Treasurer John Fleming in challenging Cassidy for his seat. Pearson Cross, who teaches political science at ULM, says that could create some headwinds for Cassidy’s re-election bid next year.
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“I think it indicates that Bill Cassidy is a person who has some problems building support in his own party if these two prominent Republicans are willing to jump into the race against him,” Cross said.
Cross says while Fleming is more conservative than Cassidy, that’s nothing compared to Miguez – and that could come into play in the newly-closed U.S. Senate primary.
“Certainly, Blake Miguez has been known for his very conservative position, as he’s been in the legislature. So he is, if anything, to the right of John Fleming. So this all adds up to a very, very interesting primary,” Cross explained.
In Miguez’s campaign announcement video, he hammered Cassidy for his vote to convict then-former President Donald Trump for his alleged role in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, 2021. Cross says that will be a theme that will play out over and over again in the run-up to the primary.
“They’re going to be coming back again and again to the fact that they say, ‘Look, Bill Cassidy did not support Donald Trump’s agenda. We do. We are the people who are capable of acting and leading the Republican Party,'” Cross said.
Cross says with two prominent Republican challengers, he believes the likely outcome will be a runoff between Cassidy and either Fleming or Miguez – or possibly some other prominent Republican who subsequently enters the race. The primary is next April.
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