Ex-GOP congressman challenges Sen. Bill Cassidy for re-election, says he's better MAGA alternative

Former U.S. Rep. John Fleming, R-La., is making his case that he has a more conservative voting record and is more aligned with President Donald Trump as he tries to out incumbent Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., in next year's Republican primaries.

"This is going to be a national election," Fleming recently told the Just the News, No Noise TV show. "But as you know, Bill Cassidy voted to convict Trump in the second impeachment trial. [He]didn't vote to impeach him. He voted to convict him of high crimes and misdemeanors, which we found none of course, and among many other things, he's really disconnected with Louisiana."

Fleming served in Congress from 2009 to 2017, representing Louisiana's fourth congressional district and helping to found the conservative House Freedom Caucus.

According to a Ragnar Research Partners poll conducted in April, Cassidy is ahead of his GOP rivals at 45%. Fleming is at 34% while other contenders are under 20%.

Fleming argued  he has a more conservative voting record than Cassidy and that his views are much more aligned with Trump. 

"I'm much more in line with President Trump, and would love to go to Washington and serve with him once again," Fleming said. 

Something Cassidy and Fleming have in common is they are both doctors. Cassidy is a gastroenterologist; Fleming is a family medicine doctor who has a private practice.

Cassidy was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2014 and is the current chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions (HELP) Committee.

Fleming was an unabashed supporter of Trump's 'one big beautiful bill" that became law last week.

"I'd be very much in support of it. I do agree that we need more cuts in spending, but we can do that with precision bills later on," he explained.

Fleming also criticized Cassidy for his support of the Biden-era bipartisan infrastructure bill, arguing it supports the Democrats' green agenda.

“We’re not seeing any broad transition of our infrastructure at all,” Fleming said, according to the Punchbowl News outlet. “It was sold as one thing and turned out to be something else as a bait-and-switch type of thing.”

When Punchbowl asked Cassidy his thoughts on Fleming running against him in the GOP primary, he appeared to shrug it off.

He told the outlet "it is what it is" and “we’re doing everything that we need to do to win decisively.”