Calhoun businessman Zach Dasher, a cousin of Duck Dynasty star Willie Robertson, announced Monday he will run for Congress in Louisiana’s 5th District.
The seat is currently held by embattled GOP Rep. Vance McAllister, who won the district in a special election last November – largely thanks to the local reality television superstar Willie Robertson’s support.
Zach Dasher said he has the full support of the Robertson family in a Monday morning interview with Louisiana radio show host Moon Griffon.
The news comes as a blow for Vance McAllister, who has waffled in recent weeks about whether he’s running for re-election. Earlier this year, Vance McAllister was caught on video kissing a staffer in his district office – an incident that gave him the title “kissing congressman”.
State Sen. Neil Riser, whom Vance McAllister defeated in the special election runoff for the seat, also announced on Monday that he will not run for the seat.
“I won’t be running in the 5th Congressional District this fall,” Neil Riser told LA Politics on Monday.
“I’m not ruling anything else out in the future, but I’m not going to be a part of this race in the fall.”
Candidates have until August 22 to file the necessary paperwork to run in Louisiana. In the state, all candidates who qualify run on the same ballot in November. If no candidate garners at least 50% of the vote, the race proceeds to a December runoff.
Louisiana’s 5th District is heavily Republican territory. GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney carried the district with 61% in 2012.
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