Almost two weeks ago, Bill Cassidy challenged Julia Letlow to three debates ahead of the May 16th primary. So far, Letlow hasn’t committed to any one of them, only saying she cannot make the middle one in Baton Rouge due to her commitments in the House of Representatives. LSU Political Science Professor Robert Hogan says with Letlow being the endorsed candidate of President Trump, what she’s doing is not uncommon.
“She’s doing what a lot of candidates, who are in a good position in a campaign often do, is that they don’t want to disrupt things,” Hogan explained.
Letlow, Cassidy and John Fleming have all put out polls that show them leading a three-candidate race. Hogan says overall, Fleming’s poll numbers are the weakest among the three, which may explain why he said he would debate Cassidy anytime, anywhere.
“Fleming has been doing less well in the polls. And so, candidates who are generally behind, are willing to do anything they can to get their voice out there,” Hogan noted.
Hogan says if the debates end up being a heads-up battle between Cassidy and Fleming, there’s one way that Letlow’s absence could hurt her.
“It has the potential to hurt her, if they spend the debate time beating up and attacking the person who isn’t there, Julia Letlow,” Hogan said.
That said, Hogan says since Letlow is Trump’s endorsed candidate, not as many people would tune in to the debates if she’s not on stage.
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