Kissing Congressman’s last stand
Kissing TALLULAH, La. — Vance McAllister dives into the annual Teddy’s Bearfest street fair, stroking baby faces and hugging old ladies — the rare Republican to show love and welcome in the crowd of African-Americans. In this town near the Mississippi border, not a single person takes McAllister to task for locking lips with an aide last December, an act of adultery that was caught on video.
“That blows your mind, doesn’t it?” says the Republican happily. “Because I’m so accepting. “The “kissing congressman” who seems more difficult these days is seriously testing the limits of office. But this conservative district in northeast Louisiana seems to be largely ignoring its role in one of the worst scandals in Congress in recent years.
McAllister has been campaigning for less than a month, resuming the centrist stance that helped him in a special election campaign in 2013. After her extramarital affair was revealed in April, she vowed not to start again, only to return months later. Meanwhile, eight other candidates jumped in. Holloway says this as McAllister stood right next to him at an event honoring the UNESCO World Heritage designation of Poverty Point in Pioneer, Louisiana. McAllister responds to the criticism: “I don’t think I blew it up. But I understand what Clyde is saying: I made it a lot more difficult with my public mistake.
He underestimates the work ahead. McAllister, 40, may have the toughest road to re-election among the nation’s House members — despite being wealthy enough to finance most of his campaign. First, he must close out the Nov. 4 “top two” primary in Louisiana — no guarantee — and then win the likely runoff. He has already lost the “Duck Dynasty” recognition he used wisely in 2013 in the 5th Congressional District. Now, the family franchise is providing political clout and more than $50,000 in campaign cash to “Dynasty” patriarch Phil Robertson’s nephew Zach Dasher, who is challenging McAlister.
Last month, McAllister’s chief of staff was arrested for drunken driving. National and Louisiana GOP leaders did not want him to run again. His rookie campaign manager, Patrick Barron, was a legislative aide until a few weeks ago.
