Trump-endorsed Rep. Julia Letlow defeated Louisiana State Treasurer John Fleming in Saturday’s Republican Senate primary runoff, delivering another primary victory for candidates backed by President Donald Trump.

With 41% of precincts reporting, Letlow had secured more than 55% of the vote, compared with about 45% for Fleming. She will become the Republican nominee in November.

Trump endorsed Letlow in January, months before the May primary. The support helped propel her past incumbent Sen. Bill Cassidy in a three-way contest. Letlow was first elected to Congress in 2021 after winning the seat previously held by her husband, Luke Letlow, who died from complications related to COVID-19.

President Donald Trump appeared alongside Rep. Julia Letlow and First Lady Melania Trump at the Congressional Ball.

After finishing first in the May primary, Letlow’s race against Fleming became increasingly competitive as polls showed the contest tightening this month.

On the Democratic side, Jamie Davis won his party’s nomination with more than 78% of the vote, while his opponent, Gary Crockett, received roughly 21%.

Trump and Cassidy have clashed repeatedly in recent years, particularly after Cassidy voted to convict the president during his 2021 impeachment trial on charges of “incitement of insurrection” following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Cassidy later cast a key vote to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Trump repeatedly attacked Cassidy over what he described as his “disloyalty” and declared his political career “OVER.”

The friction persisted even after Cassidy’s primary defeat. Last week, the two reportedly engaged in a heated exchange during a closed-door Senate luncheon after Cassidy joined three other Republicans in backing an Iran War Powers resolution opposed by the president.

Fleming, 74, served in the House of Representatives from 2009 to 2017 and later became Deputy White House Chief of Staff near the end of Trump’s first term. He currently serves as Louisiana’s state treasurer.

Both candidates campaigned as conservatives and competed to demonstrate their support for Trump’s agenda.

Despite Trump’s endorsement of Letlow, Fleming sought to position himself as the race’s leading MAGA conservative and criticized Letlow for her previous support of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

In the final days of the campaign, Trump made several online appeals on Letlow’s behalf.

On Friday, the president described her as a “Highly Respected America First Congresswoman” and a “Great Star” as well as a “TOTAL WINNER” and “wonderful person” who has been “tested at the highest and most difficult levels.”

Letlow captured 45% of the vote in the May primary, compared with 28% for Fleming and 25% for Cassidy.

Recent polling, however, suggested the runoff would be much closer in what analysts expected to be a low-turnout election.

According to Ballotpedia, Trump has achieved a 98% success rate in candidate endorsements, although that figure includes uncontested races and contests in which the president endorsed candidates after they had already established significant leads.