The top Senate Republican is headed to Louisiana to help his colleague out ahead of a contentious primary race. According to figures obtained by the Washington Reporter, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R., S.D.) helped Sen. Bill Cassidy (R., La.) raise over half a million dollars during a swing through the Bayou State.
The duo hauled in $652,000 at a Baton Rouge fundraiser, the Reporter can exclusively confirm. They were joined by a slew of VIPs, including state Reps. Dixon McMakin, Peter Egan, and Lauren Ventrella, along with Louisiana Senate President Cameron Henry, Gary Bennett, the assistant executive director of the Louisiana Sheriff’s Association, Central Mayor Wade Evans, Lane Grigsby, Gordon McKernon, Beckett Bechnel, John Condos, Jonathan Bruser, David Gaines, Kristy Nichols, Rodney Alexander, Tyron Picard, Joe Genderon, Bill Goldring, Gordon LeBlanc, Amanda Martin, Teddy Ray Price, Eddie Rispone, Chuck Stenbeck, Joe Spell, Bob Whelan, and Mike Wampold.
The two also traveled the state to pitch the agenda that they worked on alongside President Donald Trump — specifically the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, which they discussed at Phil’s Oyster Bar and Grill. That bill’s provisions, including its ban on taxes on tips, were at the forefront of the discussion. Thune, who endorsed Cassidy months ago, emphasized that the Senate GOP leadership is fully behind the pro-life Louisiana lawmaker.
“President Trump and I passed the Tax Cut for Working Families Bill,” Cassidy said during the trip. “It puts money in people’s pockets by ‘no tax on tips,’ ‘no tax on overtime,’ and ‘no tax on Social Security.’ These are huge wins for Louisiana families.”
Cassidy is historically well-funded, and his campaign and its allies plan to hit the airwaves between now and the May 16 primary touting his record of working with Trump on legislation like the tax cuts and the HALT Fentanyl Act. His campaign itself plans to spend over $10 million on voter contact informing Louisianans about that record.
That massive sum is only part of the $11 million in hard dollars that Cassidy closed out 2025 with on hand; his donations came from all of Louisiana’s 64 parishes, his campaign noted to the Reporter.
Cassidy also relies on millions of dollars in support from outside groups aligned with him, which will also help him blanket the airwaves. The combined $26 million that pro-Cassidy forces have at their disposal is the largest haul to support a candidate in Louisiana primary in history.
For months, Cassidy has traversed Louisiana, to describe to voters the merits of the legislation that he helped Thune and Trump pass into law. Last year, he highlighted the latest Trump tax cuts in Hammond, Louisiana, saying that “Louisiana waiters, waitresses, beauticians, and others depend on tips to support their families. Now they keep more of what they earn instead of sending it to Washington. That’s a huge win for working families.”
