Politics

Bill Cassidy’s last stand?

Published

2 months ago

May 16, 2026

Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy is on the ropes.

The Republican is fighting for his political life as he fends off two primary challengers capitalizing on MAGA outrage over his 2021 impeachment vote against President Donald Trump. In Louisiana, there’s a growing belief that Cassidy wont be able to overcome strong headwinds to even nab a run-off spot in the primary election on Saturday, according to nearly a dozen interviews with GOP officials, lawmakers and strategists in the state.

Should Cassidy finish third and lose outright, it would mark a stunning defeat for the two-term incumbent and herald a significant win for Trump in his grudge match against Republicans who cross him.

“When it comes to stabbing Trump in the back with that vote to impeach, the memories are very long,” said Kevin Berken, the Jefferson Davis Parish GOP chair, who opposes Cassidy in the race and is leaning toward supporting Fleming.

Most polling puts Cassidy in third place, behind Trump-endorsed Rep. Julia Letlow and State Treasurer John Fleming, another MAGA candidate. Cassidy was ostracized by the state Republican Party following his impeachment vote. Trump has continued to slam him as “very disloyal,” urging Louisiana Republicans to vote him out.

The Louisiana GOP primary is the latest stop in Trump’s revenge tour this month, with a number of his biggest enemies fighting for reelection. It began in Indiana, where the president and his allies successfully ousted five state lawmakers as punishment for refusing to redraw congressional lines in favor of the GOP. After Cassidy’s race, Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie is up next with his primary on May 19.

Still, in Louisiana, Trump hasn’t done much to boost his chosen candidate.

On Friday, he reupped his support for Letlow, calling her a “TOTAL WINNER” in a post on Truth Social. But beyond a few posts online, Trump has been largely silent, despite pushing her into the race in January with his endorsement. He continues to withhold his massive $300 million-plus MAGA Inc. war chest and did not make an appearance on her behalf during the campaign.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

Senate candidate Julia Letlow greets supporters at a campaign stop at Hammond Northshore Regional Airport on May 6, 2026.

The Cassidy campaign has said it is well aware of the challenges confronting them, but they remain confident about the senator’s chances given his record in Congress. Cassidy Campaign Manager Mark Harris said this week that their data shows the incumbent will likely not finish first but is in a good position to qualify for the run-off, thanks in part to a high number of non-party voters casting ballots in Louisiana’s closed primary.

“It’s sort of Julia’s to lose in the first round,” Harris said. “Our data indicates we have a very strong chance to put together a winning coalition, and then [win] in the run-off.”

But Cassidy’s history of frustrating MAGA goes beyond just the impeachment vote. He rankled the MAGA faithful — and the emerging Make America Healthy Again coalition — by sharply questioning Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on vaccines during his Senate confirmation. He further angered the MAHA movement by helping block the nomination of health influencer Casey Means to be U.S. Surgeon General.

His actions have pushed the Kennedy-aligned MAHA PAC to pledge spending $1 million on Letlow’s behalf as they seek to oust Cassidy — though the influence of its spending remains to be seen.

“MAHA issues are in fact central to this race and to races all around the country, where in many cases they poll higher than most other issues for voters, especially for the all-important undecided voters,” MAHA PAC leader Tony Lyons previously told Blue Light News in a text. “It’s true that Big Pharma and big food would like to convince voters otherwise, but Julia Letlow is a strong insurgent candidate and she will win.”

Nonpartisan polling shows Cassidy trailing both Fleming and Letlow, with an Emerson College Survey from late April putting him at 21 percent support, behind Fleming at 28 percent and Letlow at 27 percent. Cassidy’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

“What we’ve known all along is now becoming clear to everyone watching this race: Julia Letlow has the support, the momentum, and the trust of Louisiana Republicans,” said Katherine Thordahl, Letlow campaign spokesperson, in a statement. “Unfortunately for Bill Cassidy, Louisianans have never forgotten Bill Cassidy’s vote to convict President Trump, which remains the defining contrast in this race.”

Cassidy’s path to a run-off isn’t completely closed.

He’s benefitting from the anti-Cassidy MAGA vote being split between Letlow and Fleming, who has summoned strong grassroots support throughout his campaign. Fleming has declared himself the most conservative candidate in the race, pointing to his record as a member of the House Freedom Caucus. He also served as a White House aide during Trump’s first administration as deputy chief of staff.

“Neither one of them can claim a stronger conservative voting record,” Fleming said in an interview. “Between them, I stand alone so I think that’s the real driver of my lead on this.”

Senate candidate John Fleming greets supporters at a Ronald Reagan Newsmaker Luncheon in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on May 12, 2026.

Berken said in an interview he was leaning toward supporting Fleming due to his conservative credentials. “I know what I get with John Fleming, and even though President Trump endorsed Julia, I think he did that at Governor Landry’s behest,” he said, referring to GOP Gov. Jeff Landry’s campaign to elect Letlow to the Senate.

Letlow and Fleming have spent the final days of the campaign attacking each other, a sign that they expect to face each other in the run-off — or that they believe Cassidy may end up pulling off a surprising rise if they continue to split the MAGA vote.

Cassidy, meanwhile, continues to train all of his fire on Letlow in the home stretch. The senator has attempted to cast her as insufficiently conservative, nicknaming her “Liberal Letlow” and hammering her for past comments she made in support of diversity initiatives in higher education. Letlow has since disavowed those programs, arguing they have been hijacked by the left.

By going so hard against Letlow, “Cassidy’s committing murder suicide,” said one Louisiana GOP strategist who’s unaffiliated in the race, granted anonymity to speak freely. The strategist predicted that Fleming would emerge with the most votes.

Letlow, in response to negative campaigning from both of her opponents, has made Trump’s endorsement the centerpiece of her campaign, offered up as proof she passes the MAGA litmus test.

“What I’m hearing is this actually looks pretty, pretty tight, with a lot of undecideds right now,” said Jamey Sandefur, chair of the Livingston Parish GOP. “I’m getting the sense that a lot of people are walking into the booth and deciding when they get there.”

“I’ve always thought that endorsements don’t really matter, but I have heard a lot of people tell me that the Trump endorsement of Congresswoman Letlow is going to be the deciding factor for them,” he said. “So that’s playing in the race a lot more than I had expected.”

Politics

When a World Cup exit becomes a political crisis

Published

6 hours ago

July 3, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Many of the countries that failed to advance in the World Cup are seeing the normal cycle of accountability: angry fans, finger-pointing media, fired coaches. Uruguay’s sports officials have gone further, reportedly cancelling a team charter plane and making players take commercial flights home as a form of punishment. In Turkey, where a stunning crash-out was greeted with rage from many fans, the nation’s football boss has asked the justice minister to imprison citizens who criticize the team.

Yet nowhere have the political recriminations gone further than in South Korea, where the president has called on the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to investigate the country’s failure to advance to the round of 32, one of South Korea’s most disappointing World Cup campaigns in decades.

“I feel not just confusion but utter bewilderment at this unexpected outcome,” President Lee Jae Myung wrote on X on Sunday. “I am deeply sorry for causing such profound disappointment to the public over this absurd affair. We will swiftly push forward with reforms to sports administration to ensure such a thing never happens again.”

The issue at hand is clear, according to Lee’s post: “When favoritism and cronyism take precedence over competence in selecting a commander, the result is as predictable as fire burning paper,” he wrote — pointing back to head coach Hong Myung-bo’s controversial appointment in July 2024.

The selection of Hong sparked speculation about favoritism because the Korea Football Association abruptly selected him after months of pursuing foreign candidates. Critics questioned the transparency of the hiring process, and a government audit later found that the KFA had violated several of its own hiring procedures, fueling allegations of preferential treatment. The audit, however, did not conclude that Hong himself had acted improperly, and Hong himself denied receiving special treatment.

Ultimately, Hong remained as head coach because the authorities concluded that while the appointment process was procedurally flawed, there was no legal basis to cancel his contract. But it explains why the public’s criticism against their national soccer team has been so concentrated on the coach, whom many view as an illegitimate appointment. Hong has already announced his resignation, but that hasn’t soothed the ire of Korean fans. Many believe that the results would have been different if a coach had been selected through a proper hiring process — and it seems the president may believe so as well.

While the political repercussions of South Korea’s team losing may seem shocking, it isn’t an unreasonable overstep: Public funds account for about 30 percent of KFA’s budget. In addition, one of the defining goals of Lee’s presidency has been to strengthen transparency and accountability in both private and public sectors, which is why the opaque procedures of KFA were more likely to catch the administration’s eye. Despite Korea’s political divisions, lawmakers from across the political spectrum have voiced their common desire to reform KFA.

While South Korea is the most far-reaching example of political fallout from a World Cup exit, it is not the only country where politicians have become involved in the messy aftermath. In Turkey, football federation president İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu reportedly called on Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç to prosecute fans who insulted the national team following its elimination.

The incident also came after the national team’s official account shared a promotional video from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party, prompting accusations that the federation had blurred the line between sport and politics. The team’s elimination only deepened that political entanglement.

The two cases reflect different understandings of accountability, but with one common denominator: the belief that the World Cup is more than just a run-of-the-mill sporting event.

Politics

The European sports host with the most

Published

6 hours ago

July 3, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Switzerland is busy selling itself as a premier venue for international sports competitions — and the government is throwing its weight behind the effort.

In June, Bern backed plans to fund international sports competitions from 2027 to 2029, and two weeks ago, it approved $247 million in funding for the 2038 Winter Olympics, which it is moving toward securing the right to host.

Ruth Metzler-Arnold, president of Switzerland’s Olympic committee, said at the time that the 2038 bid “is bringing everyone together behind a concerted vision that will bolster Swiss sport in the long run and inspire generations to come.”

Switzerland already has a sizable sporting footprint. Many international sports organizations — including FIFA, the International Olympic Committee, European football governing body UEFA and the Union Cycliste Internationale — are already headquartered in the Alpine country.

In early June, the Swiss approved more than a million dollars each to support the 2027 World Rowing Championships in Lucerne and the 2028 European men’s Handball Championships in Zurich. Government money will also flow to swimming, figure skating, basketball and bobsled championships.

Switzerland is currently in a “privileged dialogue” with the IOC over its 2038 Winter Games bid, meaning that it holds exclusive rights to organize a bid until the end of next year. Karl Stoss, the chair of the IOC’s Future Host Commission ‌for the Olympic Winter Games, said in February that a host election could happen as soon as April 2027.

On the soccer field, Switzerland hosted the 2025 Women’s European Championship and co-hosted the 2008 men’s European Championship. Progress in its long-shot 2026 World Cup campaign — which continues tonight in Vancouver against Algeria — will only bolster Switzerland’s sports credentials.