Poll: Majority would not vote for McAllister

A narrow majority of voters in Rep. Vance McAllister’s (R-La.) district said the video of the married congressman kissing his former staffer would prevent them from reelecting him in November. 

An automated poll conduced by a small firm in Louisiana, Glascock Group, found 51 percent of voters there said the scandal would prevent them from voting for him again. However, another 49 percent said it would not keep them from reelecting the congressman. 

{mosads}Darrell Glascock, who ran the poll, told The Hill it was commissioned by local activists in the state, which he also described as lobbyists. The pollster only produced top-line numbers. He said it surveyed 1,300 registered voters in the district and had a 1 percent margin of error. 

Glascock said the poll was not conducted for any of McAllister’s potential opponents. He said he had not worked for McAllister or any of the congressman’s opponents in the special election last year. 

The survey showed McAllister placing in the top two slots in Louisiana’s jungle primary in a matchup with five other hypothetical candidates. But it shows he would fall short in a runoff. 

In the primary, McAllister would bring in 28 percent of the vote against other potential GOP candidates, including state Sen. Neil Riser, Public Service Commissioner Clyde Holloway, state Rep. Chris Hazel, state Rep. Edward Tarpley and Democratic Monroe Mayor Jamie Mayo.

McAllister would lose a runoff to Riser, his former opponent, 44 percent to 56 percent. Last November, Riser lost the runoff to McAllister by nearly 20 points. 

The poll showed McAllister would even lose in a runoff with Hazel, who only garnered 8 percent of the vote in the hypothetical primary. In the head-to-head matchup, Hazel would bring in 52 percent, while McAllister would garner 48 percent. 

McAllister apologized after the video last week was leaked. He has remained largely away from the public eye since then, and has resisted calls from Republicans in the state to resign. But he has not said whether he would seek reelection. 

On Wednesday night, The News Star reported the staff member accused of leaking the video, Leah Gordon, resigned from McAllister’s office.