It was a hurdle too high for Bill Cassidy to clear. The Republican senator from Louisiana had tried to satisfy Donald Trump and his supporters, but they couldn't forgive him after he voted to convict at the president's impeachment trial over the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. That was more than five years ago and the ill will lingered. Trump backed one of Cassidy's challengers in Saturday's Senate primary, and the incumbent finished third. He didn't even make the June runoff. Cassidy is the latest name on an increasingly long list of Republicans who crossed Trump and were punished by voters.

U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow and state Treasurer John Fleming have advanced to a runoff in Louisiana’s Republican Senate primary. Letlow capitalized on the power of President Donald Trump’s endorsement in another attempt to purge his party of people he views as disloyal. Trump supported Letlow over incumbent Sen. Bill Cassidy, one of the few Republican senators who voted to convict him during his second impeachment trial over the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Cassidy has also clashed with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. By receiving less than 50% of the vote, Letlow and Fleming were unable to avoid a runoff. It takes place June 27.