Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) will not run for Sen. Bill Cassidy’s (R-La.) seat next year after raising speculation that he might, he announced Thursday.
Higgins noted several polls from the GOP Trafalgar Group that indicated Republicans in the state wanted to see him run for the seat and that he had received encouragement to launch a bid.
“For the past year, because so many Patriots privately encouraged me to seek the Senate seat surely to be strongly contested in 2026, I have calmly studied a potential transition of my Congressional service from the People’s House to the esteemed Senate,” he said in a statement posted on the social platform X.
“Now, it is my considered determination that current engagement in the House being incredibly significant, it may be ultimately more beneficial to the Republic that I remain in service to the MAGA America First agenda as a senior Republican in the House of Representatives,” he continued.
Higgins, who is serving his fifth House term, suggested that if he were to serve in the Senate, “I would no doubt be forced to avert my focused attention from the battles I am currently engaged in, battles that require my very unique set of skills.”
The move clears a lane for Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming to run to the right of Cassidy, a moderate GOP lawmaker, in the 2026 Senate election.
Cassidy’s seat is rated “solid Republican” by the nonpartisan election handicapper Cook Political Report, though Cassidy’s reelection is far from certain, particularly as one of the few remaining Senate Republicans who voted to convict President Trump in 2021.
Despite the pushback Cassidy has received from some Republicans, Higgins said in his statement that he respected Cassidy and thanked him for his service.
“I have no lack of love for my fellow man, and Senator Cassidy is no exception to that fact,” Higgins said.
