Just over one month ago, on Saturday November 16th, Louisiana's Fifth Congressional district held a runoff to replace Rodney Alexander, who had stunned political observers several months earlier by, in short succession, announcing he would not seek reelection, and then, several days later, resigning to take a position as VA Secretary for Bobby Jindal. Representative Alexander was the most senior member of the state's delegation to the U.S. House, and infamous for his deeply dishonest method of switching parties in 2004, when he first filed as a Democrat and then, just a few minutes before the filing deadline passed, refiled as a Republican, eliminating the chance of significant opposition from the party that spent considerable resources electing him just two years earlier.
The campaign to replace Alexander turned into a multifaceted, fascinating campaign, competitive and wide open—contrary to the intentions of Alexander and Jindal, who (and this is the open consensus of reporters and political insiders in the state, alluded to even by David Vitter), had colluded to create a short-notice campaign in order to benefit their favored candidate, Neil Riser, who would then have major advantages in already having wide name recognition, institutional groundworks, and money that would make him a heavy favorite in a short campaign cycle for which no other candidate was prepared. Instead, a full slate of candidates entered into the run-off (which I have written about previously), including a former congressman and a handful of current or former state legislators. The last two candidates standing were, as expected Neil Riser, and most surprisingly, the insurgent candidacy of local businessman Vance McAllister of Swarz, a fusion of a McMansion bedroom community for Monroe and small rural town. McAllister came from nowhere to snatch the coveted runoff position from a group of much more well-known and established politicians, including Clyde Holloway.
McAllister came to my attention before most other election observers, both nationally and on this site, because this district was my high school stomping ground and still serves as my home away from college. My uncle lives in Swarz, and I lived not far away from there going to high school. My grandfather and uncle know McAllister from Ouachita Christian School, where my uncle and McAllister went to school (more on that important dynamic later), and Neil Riser's wife and Chief of Staff Vicki Riser was a well-loved teacher and figure at my high school alma mater of River Oaks. This campaign was a bizarre experience for me, in that for the first time there was a competitive campaign in my backyard, and not only that, but I had a rather personal and insider take on the campaign due to the people running and our mutual associates.
