A solid Conservative GOP win in Louisiana

Republicans will keep Louisiana's 5th District congressional seat no matter who wins in runoff

• A runoff with two Republicans and no Democrat. . . . the way all elections should be.

Louisiana's 5th District congressional seat will remain firmly in Republican hands, after two GOP contenders advanced to a November runoff and shut out the Democrats in their bid to retake the seat they held less than a decade ago.

State Sen. Neil Riser, a Republican from Columbia, and Vance McAllister, a businessman from Monroe, will compete in the Nov. 16 election, after winning the most support from voters in Saturday's election.

The real surprise wasn't that two Republicans will face off in the runoff, but that McAllister, a political newcomer, managed to distinguish himself among a pack of 14 candidates, including six elected officials, in only two months of campaigning reports The Republic.

A special election in the 5th district.

The self-made businessman poured an estimated $400,000 of his own cash into the race and got a sizable attention boost with the support of the highly popular "Duck Dynasty" television series star, Phil Robertson.

"I knew we worked hard. I did everything I could do, and it was in the Good Lord's hands," McAllister said Saturday night. "I'm kind of at a loss for words. I'm speechless. It's humbling to do know that this many people in this district can believe in somebody like that."

Riser received support from 32% of voters while McAllister had 18% in the low-turnout race, according to unofficial results from the secretary of state's office.

Going into the election, Riser was considered a lock on a runoff spot — but who would be his opponent was anybody's guess. Now facing a political outsider in a one-on-one competition, Riser focused on experience, saying he had a "proven record" and had already worked to pass balanced budgets in Louisiana.



McAllister had the support of the highly popular
"Duck Dynasty" television series star, Phil Robertson.

A lawmaker since 2008 and owner of a funeral home business, Riser is best known for sponsoring a state constitutional amendment that makes it tougher to enact gun restrictions in Louisiana. He said he wouldn't change his campaign focus in the runoff.


"We're going to keep some sending the same message that D.C. needs to pass a balanced budget, that spending's out of control," he said.

McAllister ran as a political outsider and self-made businessman who could bring common sense to Washington, D.C. "They're ready for somebody who's real," he said.

Riser and McAllister beat five other elected officials vying for the runoff spot: Public Service Commissioner Clyde Holloway, a Republican; state Rep. Marcus Hunter, a Democrat; state Rep. Robert Johnson, a Democrat; Monroe Mayor Jamie Mayo, a Democrat; and state Rep. Jay Morris, a Republican.

The sprawling 5th District covers all or part of 24 parishes, from northeast and central Louisiana into the southeast.

Vance McAllister