-excerpts-

Republican businessman Vance McAllister, a political newcomer who boasts of never having visited Washington, D.C., won a special election in Louisiana on Saturday to fill the congressional seat formerly held by fellow Republican Rodney Alexander.

In a runoff to fill Louisiana's vacant 5th Congressional District, McAllister took 60 percent of the vote against fellow Republican Neil Riser, a state senator. All precincts have reported in the largely conservative and mostly rural district.

McAllister, running as an outsider, lined up an endorsement from "Duck Dynasty" star Phil Robertson, the patriarch in the popular reality show, and cast member Willie Robertson appeared in a commercial for the candidate.

Unlike McAllister, Riser had the backing of a number of prominent Republicans including U.S. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor.

McAllister campaigned as a social and fiscal conservative. But the college dropout, whose business interests range from oilfield technology to fast-food franchises, also pledged to return some civility to the nation's capital and positioned himself slightly to the left of Riser.

As a state senator, Riser authored a Louisiana constitutional amendment requiring any state gun restrictions to pass the "strict scrutiny" test. The funeral home owner was the contest's early favorite with backing from the conservative Tea Party of Louisiana and the national group FreedomWorks, which is aligned with the Tea Party movement.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/1...17?feedType=RSS