Louisiana Senate primary heats up as Cassidy accuses Letlow of Pelosi-style stock trading, DEI support

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., accused his primary opponent, Rep. Julia Letlow, of taking a "Nancy Pelosi approach" to stock trades, claiming she made investments within days of subcommittee hearings involving those companies.

Cassidy, the incumbent senator fighting to defend his seat, joined the "Fox News Rundown" podcast ahead of Saturday's Republican primary election.

"She's done well for herself financially," Cassidy told Fox News Radio's Jessica Rosenthal. "Kind of the Nancy Pelosi approach to stock markets, I'll just point out, which is public record."

Cassidy argued public records show Letlow had bought or sold shares within days of subcommittee hearings related to those companies. Letlow previously denied similar allegations in April after attack ads leveled the same point.

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"I most certainly did not break federal law," Letlow told Fox 8 at the time. "I've had a portfolio that has been managed by a third party. And it was very important to me, whenever I was elected to Congress, to make sure that I had absolutely no direction over it."

But Cassidy claims Letlow's broker has not provided proof the trades were made independently. "She claims that her broker did that independently. They asked the broker for a letter to that effect, and the broker would not give the letter," he said.

Letlow's campaign fired back in a statement to Fox News Digital, calling the claims a ploy to save his campaign.

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"This is a last-ditch effort by Bill Cassidy to smear Julia Letlow because he knows he is going to lose tomorrow," Letlow's campaign spokesperson Katherine Thordahl said.

"President Trump endorsed Julia Letlow because he knows she is a strong conservative who will stand with him and fight for the America First agenda in the United States Senate. At the end of the day, Bill Cassidy will do or say anything to distract from his own record, including his vote to impeach President Trump."

Cassidy also reiterated comments labeling Letlow a "liberal," pointing to past remarks she made advocating for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

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The comments came from a 2020 video of Letlow interviewing to become president of the University of Louisiana Monroe. In the footage, Letlow called the school's record on faculty gender diversity "shameful," praised DEI efforts around the country and said she wanted to open the school's first DEI division.

"She is saying there should be a completely staffed department of DEI reporting to the president and having input before any decision was made," Cassidy said on the podcast. "Now that's not the way folks in Louisiana believe."

Earlier this week, Letlow took to the "Fox News Rundown" podcast to defend her record, arguing that DEI programs she once oversaw were "hijack[ed]" by the political left and turned into "Marxism."

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"DEI six years ago was introduced in higher education as something that could be a tool to encourage students, staff, faculty to work hard and go achieve the American dream," Letlow said.

"I quickly witnessed the left completely hijack any of those efforts and turn it into indoctrination of our students, Marxism, holding people down instead of lifting them up," she added.

Letlow said the DEI issue is more complex than the ads or Cassidy suggest, arguing it was initially presented as a tool for student success but later was distorted into something she opposes.

"Once I witnessed that firsthand because I was in education, I spent the last five years in Congress fighting against it," she added.