'Duck Dynasty' Endorsed Candidate Wins Special Election, Upsets GOP Establishment Opponent
A political candidate endorsed by a member of the "Duck Dynasty" family has upset his establishment opponent in a special election held in Louisiana.
Vance McAllister, a businessman who received an endorsement from Willie Robertson not long before the vote, was victorious against La. State Senator Neil Riser this past weekend.
In the special runoff election held for the vacated Fifth Congressional District seat of Louisiana, McAllister defeated Riser with 59.7 percent of the vote versus Riser's 40.3 percent, reported Politico.
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Riser had strong support from Republican establishment figures at the state and federal level and was expected to win the race, Politico's Alex Isenstadt noted.
"McAllister, a political newcomer, led Riser, a state senator who had won the support of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and much of the state's GOP congressional delegation," wrote Isenstadt.
"I would like to thank everyone for your support and prayers! I am grateful to each and every one of you who made our victory possible. Together we will make a change in Washington," reads an entry on the McAllister campaign's Facebook page from Sunday.
McAllister's victory was very much an unforeseen event, as numbers from the October open primary gave Riser 32 percent of the vote versus McAllister's 18 percent.
However many are crediting the surprise finish to the race to a brief television plug that Willie Robertson made for the McAllister campaign after the primary.
"Hey this is Willie Robertson reminding you to get out Saturday, November 16 and vote for my good buddy Vance McAllister," said Robertson. "Let's send somebody from the Fifth District who speaks for us to help turn Washington around."
Willie was not the only member of the "Duck Dynasty" clan to support McAllister, as Jep Robertson also professed support for McAllister in a brief ad found on the home page of the campaign website.
"If you love America and you live in Louisiana, you need to vote for Vance this Saturday because I sure as heck know I am," said Jep.
McAllister himself has recognized the likely impact the Duck Dynasty connection did for him, telling the crew at Fox & Friends on Monday that "I'm sure it didn't hurt at all."
