美联社周六预测，两名共和党挑战者，众议员朱莉娅·莱特洛和州财政部长约翰·弗莱明，将在路易斯安那州备受关注的共和党初选中进行决选参议员比尔·卡西迪的失败引起了唐纳德·特朗普总统的愤怒。
莱特洛得到了特朗普在三方竞选中被视为对总统在共和党人中影响力的考验。
莱特洛和弗莱明将在6月27日的决选中再次交锋。
据美联社报道，随着将近100%的估计选票统计完毕，莱特洛以大约45%的选票领先，弗莱明以大约28%的选票紧随其后。卡西迪以大约25%的选票落后。
初选失败标志着卡西迪的惊人损失，也是对其他可能违抗总统的共和党人的潜在警告，因为特朗普一直试图驱逐他认为不忠诚的人。特朗普支持的候选人最近击败了几名印第安纳州参议员反对他重新划分选区计划的人。
卡西迪的失败使他成为自2017年以来第一位输掉初选的在任参议员，也是自2012年印第安纳州共和党参议员理查德·卢格(Richard Lugar)输给茶党挑战者以来第一位输掉初选的当选在任参议员。
卡西迪表达了对他在任期间的感激，并承认竞选没有像他希望的那样进行。
“但你不会撅嘴，不会发牢骚，不会声称选举被偷了，”他说。“你不需要制造任何借口——只要你拥有代表州或国家的特权，你就要感谢选民，这就是我现在正在做的。”
他还毫不掩饰地抨击特朗普，但没有点名。
“我们的国家不是一个人的事，而是所有美国人的福祉，是我们的宪法，”他说。“这是我忠诚的人民、我的州、我的国家和我们的宪法的福祉。”
特朗普庆祝
在他的社交媒体平台上，川普庆祝了卡西迪的预期失败，并祝贺莱特洛。
“朱莉娅·莱特洛是一个了不起的人，在处理一些额外的业务后，将成为伟大的路易斯安那州人民的一名出色的参议员，”特朗普在邮报中说。
周六晚上，莱特洛在巴吞鲁日对支持者发表讲话时，首先感谢了特朗普。
“我想对一个非常特别的人说谢谢，你们都知道他是这个国家有史以来最好的总统:唐纳德·特朗普总统，”莱特洛说。
“当他在1月份支持我时，我知道这将是一场艰难的比赛，但今晚路易斯安那州发出了一个明确的信息——他们希望一位候选人在参议院代表他们，他将永远把美国放在第一位，永远不会背弃路易斯安那州的选民，”莱特洛继续说。
弗莱明表达了他将赢得决选的充分信心。
“我热情地迎接这一挑战。决选从今天开始，我非常兴奋，”他在周日的一份声明中说。
“路易斯安那州的人民应该有一位不会被收买、不会被颐指气使、永远不会退缩的参议员，”弗莱明说道。
在竞选活动中
在竞选过程中，三届众议员莱特洛对特朗普的支持毫不避讳，称卡西迪不忠诚，弗莱明与总统脱节。她的竞选信息部分集中在捍卫父母权利和确保边境安全上。
弗莱明是一名前国会议员，后来在第一届特朗普政府中担任过各种角色，他向选民推销自己是最坚定的保守派，尽管他没有得到特朗普的公开支持。
就他而言，2014年首次当选参议员的医生卡西迪认为，他的记录证明了他为路易斯安那州和试图将自己与特朗普联系起来——在保守议程上竞选，反对堕胎，支持“强边界”,并共同发起了特朗普的立法优先事项“拯救美国法案”。
特朗普的背书
川普在一月份颠覆了卡西迪的连任竞选，当时他支持让洛进入，希望击败卡西迪。
特朗普试图惩罚卡西迪，他与该党决裂，成为投票判定特朗普在煽动1月6日国会大厦骚乱中的作用的七名参议员之一。57票对43票，低于给特朗普定罪所需的67票门槛。
在周六早上的社交媒体帖子中——大约在民意调查开始后两个小时——特朗普再次抨击连任两届的现任总统，同时支持莱特洛。他称卡西迪“不忠诚”，并斥责他在整个竞选过程中使用他的名字。
尽管两人关系紧张，但卡西迪有时会支持川普的计划。作为一名医生和疫苗的长期支持者，卡西迪在他的确认听证会上质问了卫生部长小罗伯特·F·肯尼迪-一个疫苗怀疑论者-但投了决定性的一票以推进他的提名。
但对一些人来说，卡西迪投票给川普定罪可能足以让他完蛋。
路易斯安那州立大学政治学教授罗伯特·霍根在初选前告诉美国广播公司新闻，一些选民对卡西迪投票给总统定罪仍有“本能”的反应。
霍根说:“共和党激进分子一直不宽容。“我认为，这与其说是在说卡西迪，不如说是在说选民对川普的吸引力的本质。”
Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy defeated, Julia Letlow and John Fleming advance to runoff, AP projects
Two Republican challengers, Rep. Julia Letlow and state Treasurer John Fleming, will advance to a runoff election in Louisiana's closely watched GOP primary, The Associated Press projected Saturday --a defeat for Sen. Bill Cassidy who had drawn the ire of President Donald Trump.
Letlow had been endorsed byTrump in a three-way race that was seen as a test of the president's influence among Republicans.
Letlow and Fleming will face off again in the runoff on June 27.
With nearly 100% of the estimated vote counted, Letlow led with about 45% of the vote, followed by Fleming with about 28%, according to the AP. Cassidy trailed with about 25% of the vote.
The primary defeat marks a stunning loss for Cassidy and a potential warning to other Republicans who risk defying the president, as Trump has sought to oust those he views as disloyal. Trump-backed candidatesrecently defeated several Indiana state senatorswho opposed his redistricting plans.
Cassidy's defeat makes him the first sitting senator to lose a primary since 2017 and the first elected incumbent senator to lose a primary since 2012 -- when Indiana GOP Sen. Richard Lugar lost his race to a Tea Party challenger.
Cassidy expressed gratitude for his time in office and acknowledged the race didn't go like he would have liked.
"But you don't pout, you don't whine, you don't claim the election was stolen," he said. "You don't manufacture some excuse --you thank the voters for the privilege of representing the state or the country for as long as you've had that privilege, and that's what I'm doing right now."
He also took a thinly veiled jab at Trump without naming him.
"Our country is not about one individual, it is about the welfare of all Americans, and it is about our Constitution," he said. "And it is the welfare of my people and my state and my country and our Constitution, to which I am loyal."
Trump celebrates
In a post on his social media platform, Trump celebrated Cassidy's projected defeat and congratulated Letlow.
"Julia Letlow is a fantastic person and, after taking care of some additional business, will make a brilliant Senator for the Great People of Louisiana," Trump said in the post.
In speech to supporters in Baton Rouge on Saturday night, Letlow opened her remarks thanking Trump.
"I want to say thank you to a very special man, who you all know – the best president this country has ever had: President Donald Trump," Letlow said.
"When he endorsed me in January, I knew this was going to be a tough race, but tonight Louisiana sent a clear message -- that they want a candidate to represent them in the Senate who will always put America first and never turn her back on Louisiana voters," Letlow continued.
Flemingexpressed full confidence he will win the runoff.
"I embrace this challenge enthusiastically. The runoff starts today, and I could not be more energized," he said in a statement on Sunday.
"The people of Louisiana deserve a senator who cannot be bought, will not be bossed, and will never back down,"Flemingsaid.
On the campaign trail
On the campaign trail, Letlow, a three-term congresswoman, was anything but shy about Trump's endorsement, casting Cassidy as disloyal and Fleming as out of touch with the president. Her campaign messaging focused in part on defending parental rights and securing the border.
Fleming, a former congressman who later served in various roles in the first Trump administration, pitched himself to voters as the most staunch conservative, though he did not receive a public endorsement from Trump.
For his part, Cassidy, a physician who was first elected to the Senate seat in 2014, argued his record proved he delivered for Louisianans andsought to tie himself to Trump -- campaigning on a conservative agenda, arguing against abortion, supporting "strong borders" and co-sponsoring the SAVE America Act, a legislative priority for Trump.
Trump's endorsement
Trump upended Cassidy's reelection bid in January when heencouragedLetlow to enter in hopes of defeating Cassidy.
Trump sought to punish Cassidy, who broke with the party as one of seven senators to vote to convict Trump for his role in inciting the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. The 57-43 vote fell shy of the 67 vote threshold needed to convict Trump.
In a Saturday morning social media post -- roughly two hours after polls opened --Trump again ripped on the two-term incumbent while endorsing Letlow. He called Cassidy "disloyal" and castigated him for using his name throughout the campaign.
Despite their fraught relationship, Cassidy has, at times, supported Trump's agenda. Cassidy, a physician and longtime proponent of vaccines, grilled Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. -- a vaccine skeptic -- during his confirmation hearing but cast the deciding vote to advance his nomination.
Yet for some, Cassidy's vote to convict Trump may have been enough to do him in.
Robert Hogan, a political science professor at Louisiana State University, told ABC News ahead of the primary that some voters still had a "visceral" reaction to Cassidy's vote to convict the president.
"The Republican activists have been unforgiving," Hogan said. "This says less about Cassidy, I would say, than it says about the nature of the attraction that voters have towards Trump."
