Bill Cassidy

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., used a Thursday Newsmax interview days before his Republican primary to argue that his legislative record, not President Donald Trump's endorsement of a rival, should decide the race.

Cassidy, a physician seeking a third term, appeared on "Greg Kelly Reports" as he trails in public polling ahead of Louisiana's May 16 primary.

An Emerson College/KLFY survey conducted April 24-26 found state Treasurer John Fleming at 28%, Rep. Julia Letlow at 27% and Cassidy at 21%, with 22% undecided. The poll of 500 likely GOP voters had a margin of error of about 4.3 percentage points.

Trump has endorsed Letlow, as has Gov. Jeff Landry.

Cassidy was one of seven Senate Republicans who voted to convict Trump at his second impeachment trial, a vote that has driven primary challenges against him.

Asked about that strained relationship, Cassidy pointed to legislation Trump has signed.

He cited his Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act, which Trump signed in July and which permanently classifies fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I drugs.

Cassidy, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, was a lead sponsor alongside Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M.

"The president may not like me very much," Cassidy said. "Sometimes, when you have a common goal — the good of our country, the good of your state — you work together, and we work together very well."

Cassidy said three other bills he wrote or negotiated have been signed in recent months, including measures addressing addiction treatment and prescription drug costs. Letlow, he said, "has not had a single piece of legislation signed into law."

He also highlighted the 2021 infrastructure law he helped negotiate, saying it has brought billions of dollars to Louisiana, including roughly $1.36 billion in broadband funding.

Cassidy's office has said the state was awarded about $1.355 billion under the law's Broadband Equity Access and Deployment program.

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, the anti-abortion group, endorsed Cassidy in January, and he said he has continued to back the oil and gas industry.

He confirmed he voted to convict Trump in the second impeachment but said he does not dwell on it.

"I spend my time thinking about the present and the future of the United States of America," he said. "What can I do to make my country and my state a better place?"

Under Louisiana's new closed primary system, the first for a Senate race since 2010, voters registered with no party may still cast a ballot in the Republican primary. A runoff would be held on June 27 if no candidate wins a majority.

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