U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump, and state Treasurer John Fleming are competing in the runoff for the Louisiana GOP Senate nomination. The two finished ahead of Sen. Bill Cassidy in the May 16 primary after Trump denounced the two-term senator, who voted to convict him following his 2021 impeachment.

Letlow’s advantages

Letlow has big advantages in the runoff, including support from prominent Republicans and a strong campaign spending effort. She was also endorsed by Gov. Jeff Landry and U.S. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise. Letlow finished first in the primary with nearly 45% of the vote, compared with about 28% for Fleming and nearly 25% for Cassidy.

Fleming, a founder of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, has reminded voters that he did not resign after the January 6, 2021, protests at the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters. He has appealed to those who identify with the president’s “Make America Great Again” movement, saying his voting record is more conservative than Letlow’s.

Policy differences

Letlow has emphasized key priorities for social conservatives, notably her support for national legislation barring transgender women and girls from competing in school sports. Fleming has staked much of his campaign on opposition to carbon capture and sequestration, the process for injecting carbon dioxide waste underground to reduce industrial pollution.

The two campaigns have spent comparably on advertising, roughly $1 million each. But a super PAC that supports Letlow has led all spending, accounting for $4 million since the primary, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact.

Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.