Republican Sen. John Kennedy invoked his characteristically folksy charm as he explained Sunday why fellow Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy’s primary defeat was inevitable.
Cassidy failed to qualify Saturday for the June 27 Republican runoff for the Louisiana Senate seat he currently holds, finishing third behind Republican Rep. Julia Letlow and Republican Treasurer John Fleming with just 25% of the vote. Kennedy said he had no plans to “weigh in” on the runoff, describing Letlow and Fleming as “fine people.”
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“Unless you’re God’s perfect idiot, the result was predictable. I mean, ‘ground control to Major Tom,’ the polls have shown for well over a year that Senator Cassidy was in trouble,” Kennedy told “The Sunday Briefing” host Peter Doocy. “I think the president’s endorsement of Congresswoman Letlow was sort of the icing on the cake. Bill knew that, but he decided to run anyway. I respect that. I thank him for his service, he was very gracious in his concession speech.”
“We now got a runoff between two fine people,” Kennedy continued. “For what it’s worth, I don’t plan to get involved. A wise man once said nothing. Why? Because he’s a wise man. But I don’t plan on weighing in, and, you know, if one of them starts talking about my mama, I might, otherwise I’m just going to vote like everybody else.”
Cassidy was one of seven Republican senators who voted to convict President Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial, which took place after the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol building. Cassidy also repeatedly clashed with Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over a vaccine advisory commission and other issues.
“President Trump’s endorsement had a huge, huge impact — there’s no question about that — but there were other factors,” Kennedy told Doocy. “And, as I said, Bill’s been in trouble politically for over a year and he knew that. And I don’t think anybody was especially surprised, especially after President Trump weighed in.”
The winner of the June 27 runoff will be heavily favored to win in November’s general election.
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