State Sen. Neil Riser and political newcomer Vance M. McAllister, a wealthy entrepreneur from Monroe, emerged from a field of fourteen candidates in yesterday’s special election in Louisiana’s 5th congressional district and will compete in a Nov. 16 runoff to determine which of the two Republicans will replace former U.S. Rep. Rodney Alexander.
The 66-year-old Alexander resigned his seat in Congress last month to accept a cabinet-level position in Gov. Bobby Jindal’s administration.
The district, geographically the largest — and poorest — in the state, is considered a relatively “safe” Republican district.
Riser and McAllister combined for nearly fifty percent of the vote in yesterday’s crowded contest with Riser, who enjoyed the backing of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, grabbing roughly a third of the more than 103,000 votes cast. McAllister, 39, garnered approximately 18 percent of the vote.
Monroe Mayor Jamie Mayo, one of four Democrats in the race, placed third in the jungle primary with 15,317 votes, or 15 percent.
Former three-term Republican congressman Clyde Holloway — making his fifth bid for a political comeback — finished fourth in Saturday’s balloting, unofficially polling 11,250 votes, or 11 percent.
Holloway, who once represented the state’s old historically Democratic eighth district — holding that seat from 1987 to 1993 — has made repeated attempts to return to Congress, losing a bid in the 7th district in 1994 and failing twice previously in the 5th district. He also waged a losing campaign for lieutenant governor in 2003.
The 69-year-old Holloway currently serves on the Louisiana Public Service Commission.
The five minor-party and independent candidates — the Green Party’s Eliot Barron, Libertarians Henry Herford, Jr., and Syrian-born S.B.A. Zaitoon, and independents Tom Gibbs and Peter Williams— fared poorly in yesterday’s free-for-all.
Herford, a Ron Paul supporter and self-described “recovering Republican,” netted 886 votes while Barron, a 38-year-old New Orleans real estate agent and former Army medic who doesn’t live in the district — district residency isn’t a requirement for Congress — polled 492 votes.
Arguably the most progressive-minded candidate in the field, Barron waged a spirited, bare-bones campaign focusing on income inequality in Louisiana and ending the increasingly reckless bipartisan paralysis in Washington.
Campaigning on a platform of peace, social justice, sustainability and grassroots democracy, the Green Party candidate said repeatedly that the United States was experiencing a serious political and economic crisis — one that neither major party has been willing to adequately address, let alone resolve.
Here are the unofficial results from the district’s 981 precincts, according to the Louisiana Secretary of State website:
Neil Riser (Rep.) 33,045 32%
Vance McAllister (Rep.) 18,386 18%
James Mayo (Dem.) 15,317 15%
Clyde Holloway (Rep.) 11,250 11%
Robert Johnson (Dem.) 9,971 10%
“Jay” Morris (Rep.) 7,083 7%
Marcus Hunter (Dem.) 3,088 3%
Weldon Russell (Dem.) 2,554 2%
Henry Herford, Jr. (Lbt.) 886 1%
Phillip Weatherly (Rep.) 517 0%
Eliot S. Barron (Green) 492 0%
Peter Williams (Ind.) 335 0%
“Tom” Gibbs (Ind.) 324 0%
S.B.A. Zaitoon (Lbt.) 129 0%
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