Negative campaigning prevalent in Louisiana U.S. Senate Republican Primary runoff

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The race to represent the Republican Party in the 2026 U.S. Senate election comes to an end Saturday night as the primary runoff between Julia Letlow and John Fleming will be decided. Negative ads have been prominent in this campaign as the two sides try to distinguish themselves as the more conservative candidate. Letlow has continuously pointed out that she has the endorsement of President Trump.

“President Trump would never endorse someone who is not a true ‘America First’ conservative. And he has chosen me to endorse; and so that should give the people peace of mind when they have to look at these negative, desperate ads,” Letlow said.

The Fleming campaign has portrayed Letlow as a liberal. Fleming accused Letlow of supporting a liberal environmental agenda when it comes to Carbon Capture and Sequestration and he says Letlow supported DEI initiatives when she interviewed to be the president at ULM. Letlow says she’s anti-DEI and that’s why she authored the Parents Bill of Rights Act.

“The control to be able to go to their school boards lawfully and talk about how they did not appreciate DEI being taught in their children’s curriculum; so, that is absolutely false that I would be a proponent of DEI,” Letlow explained.

Fleming says Letlow’s Parents Bill of Rights Act did not pass and there’s very little she can point to as far as accomplishments since she was elected to the US House of Representatives in 2021.

“She was a higher education administrator before she was elected to Congress, and she’s done very little, practically nothing; she’s not passed one single bill into law,” Fleming noted.

Fleming says his resume is much more robust. Fleming has previously served in the U.S. House and was part of the Trump Administration during the President’s first term. The 74-year-old Minden native also says voters value his experience in the military, as a doctor and business owner.

“Compare us side-by-side, and we’re finding the vast majority of voters feel like there’s no comparison,” Fleming said.

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday.

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