During rough campaign, Cassidy gets kudos for supporting port

U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, locked in an unusually rugged re-election battle for an incumbent in a state his party dominates, found smooth sailing Friday at the Port of Morgan City.
Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, took what amounted to a victory lap, a boat tour of the port and the nearby waterways, where business is on the rise. Along the way, Cassidy received the thanks of port Executive Director Raymond “Mac” Wade for supporting the port’s revival and the dredging that has opened those waterways for commerce.
That commerce amounts to billions of dollars each year, Wade said.
A series of floods 2016-19 caused widespread silting in the port’s channel. Since then, the Army Corps of Engineers has come through with unprecedented levels of dredging, sometimes with three or four dredges working simultaneously.
Port officials have often praised members of the state’s congressional delegation for help with funding, especially for multimillion dredging projects by the Corps of Engineers. According to Wade, the port’s channel is now at its authorized depth of 20 feet and width of 400 feet, giving companies along the waterways important access to the Gulf.
“That’s because of a vision [port officials] had with the money I was able to get,” Cassidy said.
After the tour, Cassidy said he remembers hearing 10 years ago about a problem with sticky “fluff” mud that could foul propulsion systems on vessels using the port’s channel.
Now the Arulaq, a specially designed and constructed dredge that uses suction and agitation to clear the mud from the waterway, is on duty in the port channel near the Gulf.
Friday’s tour floated past drydocks, cranes, huge cargo vessels and familiar names in the local maritime industry including Halimar, Oceaneering and Conrad.
At Conrad’s Amelia yard, two gleaming white YRBM vessels await finishing touches. The Morgan City company designed the YRBMs to be towed to ports as living quarters for Navy personnel while their ships are being repaired or maintained.
Congress recently came through with $140 million in funding for more YRBMs.
The tour boat slid past Morgan City Mayor Lee Dragna’s LAD Services, which builds barges for use by Elon Musk’s Space X program.
Not far away is Performance Contractors, which has already built 14 modules for use in liquefied natural gas transport. The company occupies the old McDermott yard, with room for more than 2,000 employees, the company’s Brandon Mabile told the Atchafalaya Intracoastal Coalition on Monday.
The company has plans to build 14 more modules, Mabile said.
“This does not look like the port I saw 10 years ago,” Cassidy said after the tour.
Whether Cassidy will be in the Senate for the next the six years depends first on the May 16 Republican primary, a possible runoff and then on the general election Nov. 3. The GOP primary campaign has revolved around incumbent Cassidy’s relationship with President Donald Trump.
The senator was one of seven Republicans who voted to convict during Trump’s second impeachment trial. Cassidy, a physician, has also sparred with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccine policy. Cassidy voted for Kennedy’s confirmation for that post.
The president has endorsed opponent Julia Letlow, who represents Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District, in the Republican Senate primary.
Cassidy insists he still works with the Trump administration, notably on successfully passed legislation stiffening penalties related to fentanyl-related substances and holding down the cost of medication.
Cassidy also spoke recently in favor of the controversial Save America Act. The act would require voters to show ID at the polls, require citizenship and, if the president gets his way in the Senate version of a House-passed bill, ban no-excuse mail-in voting.
On Friday, Cassidy was generally supportive of Trump’s decision to bomb Iran, citing the possibility that the Iranian regime could develop a nuclear weapon or other threats.
How close the Iranians might have been is a matter of controversy.
In March 2025, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told Congress that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon, although the theocratic regime had cruise and ballistic missiles capable of striking U.S. facilities and Iran’s neighbors. Within three months, the first round of U.S. bombings began against what the administration described as a nuclear weapons program.
“I think the president is going to feel compelled to explain that,” Cassidy said.
Letlow has hammered Cassidy with the Trump endorsement and over the senator’s impeachment vote. Cassidy released this week released a poll he commissioned that gives him the lead in both the four-candidate primary field and a head-to-head matchup with Letlow. But he has also sent campaign emails counting down the days in which he says Letlow has refused to debate, the sort of accusation that typically comes from a candidate viewed as the underdog.
Also in the Republican primary is state Treasurer John Fleming, a former congressman. Fleming’s campaign website literally says he was “MAGA before MAGA was cool.” He also points to his role in forming the ultra-conservative Freedom Caucus.
The fourth candidate is Mark Spencer, who appears to be running to the right of a conservative field.
“Our campaign stands strong against the culture of abortion, prioritizing the sanctity of life, supporting our law enforcement agencies to ensure our safety, and striving to expand our great nation with bold vision,” Spencer’s website says.