Republican senator who voted to convict Trump battles for re-election

Republican Senator Bill Cassidy, who voted to convict the president at his 2021 impeachment trial, is fighting for political survival as he faces a Trump-backed challenger in Saturday's primary election.

President Donald Trump has thrown his full support behind Congresswoman Julia Letlow in Louisiana's high-stakes contest, branding the incumbent senator a "disloyal disaster".

Most polls suggest Cassidy is trailing Letlow and state treasurer John Fleming, another Trump-aligned candidate, in the race.

The primary is the latest test of Trump's ability to punish Republicans who break with him. If none of the candidates wins a simple majority, the top two will head to a runoff at the end of June.

Cassidy, 68, was one of seven Senate Republicans who voted to convict Trump when the president was impeached after the 6 January attack on the Capitol in 2021.

Trump was acquitted after the Senate voted 57-43, short of the two-thirds majority required.

Of the seven Republicans who voted to convict him, only three still serve in the Senate: Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who survived a primary challenge in 2022; Susan Collins of Maine; and Bill Cassidy.

During his re-election campaign, the Louisiana senator sought to repair his strained relationship with Trump.

"I don't really think President Trump likes me that much, but we work really well together," he told reporters last week, pointing to several bills he sponsored that were later signed into law by the president.

Despite Cassidy's attempts to emphasise his alignment with Trump, the president in January encouraged US Representative Julia Letlow, 45, to challenge the senator.

Just as polls opened in Louisiana on Saturday morning, the president took another swing at Cassidy, and re-upped his support for Letlow.

"Bill Cassidy is a sleazebag, a terrible guy, who is BAD FOR LOUISIANA," the president wrote. "Now he's going to get CLOBBERED, hopefully, in today's BIG election, by two great people!!! VOTE TODAY FOR JULIA L. She Is a winner who will NEVER let you down."

In 2021, Letlow became the first Republican woman elected to represent Louisiana in Congress.

She won a special election for Louisiana's 5th Congressional District after her husband, a newly elected representative, died in 2020 from complications related to Covid-19 before his swearing in.

Letlow has accused Cassidy of being disloyal to the Republican Party and has claimed that the people of Louisiana "shouldn't have to wonder how our senator will vote when the pressure's on".

She has echoed MAGA loyalist sentiment that Cassidy's vote to convict Trump was a betrayal.

Cassidy, who is a gastroenterologist, also faced criticism from right-wing opponents over his outspoken support for vaccines.

For his part, the incumbent senator has accused Letlow of not being conservative enough, highlighting comments she made in 2020 supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion programmes in education.