Now that we know who will be on the Republican ballot for U.S. Senator and who will not, the race is underway in earnest. With a recent poll showing Bill Cassidy in the fight for his political life, his campaign has come out swinging against Julia Letlow, releasing ads accusing her of promoting DEI policies and hitting her on failing to report stock trades in a timely manner in violation of the STOCK Act. ULM political science professor Pearson Cross says Cassidy’s messaging has so far been effective.
“I think he’s taking a strategy that he wants to define Julia Letlow before she gets chance to define herself,” Cross said.
Letlow entered the race after President Trump gave her his endorsement. Cross says it’s now up to her to come up with an effective message to counter Cassidy’s campaign’s accusations.
“Women are seen generally in office as a bit softer than men, so she’s got to come back hard and prove that she’s not quote-unquote, ‘Liberal Letlow,’ but she’s, in fact, tough conservative Trump-endorsed Julia Letlow,” Cross explained.
The wild card in the Republican primary is John Fleming, who was the first to announce a primary challenge against Bill Cassidy more than a year ago. Cross says the no-holds-barred wrestling match between Cassidy and Letlow could ultimately work to Fleming’s benefit.
“He can sit back and say, ‘Look, I’m the real conservative in this race. You’ve got these people, one of whom voted to impeach Donald Trump, the other one’s hanging out with Pelosi. I’m the guy who’s been there for you and switch over to me,'” Cross said.
As for whether the bruising Republican primary could bode well for whoever ends up being the Democratic nominee, Cross says with no Democrats with widespread name recognition in the race and with Trump enjoying a relatively high approval rating in Louisiana, it’s highly unlikely that any Democrat has a chance to win in November.
Comments