McAllister asks for forgiveness after kiss

Published 12:04 am Tuesday, April 8, 2014

BATON ROUGE (AP) — Freshman U.S. Rep. Vance McAllister says he’s asking his family and constituents for forgiveness after a West Monroe newspaper published a video that it says shows the congressman kissing a woman who wasn’t his wife.

In a statement issued Monday, the Republican congressman said, “There’s no doubt I’ve fallen short and I’m asking for forgiveness.”

The Ouachita Citizen posted a video Monday of what it said was Dec. 23 surveillance video from inside McAllister’s congressional office in Monroe, showing McAllister and a member of his staff.

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“I promise to do everything I can to earn back the trust of everyone I’ve disappointed,” McAllister said.

McAllister has represented Louisiana’s 5th District since November. He attracted national attention because of his endorsement from the bearded men of the “Duck Dynasty” reality TV show.

McAllister, who largely self-funded his campaign, beat establishment candidate Neil Riser, a state senator, in a special runoff election for the vacant 5th District seat. Riser managed to eek out a local advantage in Concordia Parish, with voters casting 1,347 votes for him and 1,121 McAllister.