--- title: Congressman Caught Kissing Aide Won’t Seek Re-election description: Vance McAllister will serve out the rest of his term but won’t run for Congress again after he was caught smooching a female aide canonical: https://time.com/80646/congressman-caught-kissing-aide-wont-seek-re-election/ author: Michelle Arrouas article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-04-29T09:29:06.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T07:33:00.696Z article:section: Politics og:title: Congressman Caught Kissing Aide Won’t Seek Re-election og:description: Vance McAllister will serve out the rest of his term but won’t run for Congress again after he was caught smooching a female aide og:url: https://time.com/80646/congressman-caught-kissing-aide-wont-seek-re-election/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt905385a2eeb64d23/69868cee06f2c16b8632ea55/pol_vance_mcallister_kissing_congressmen_0429.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1500 og:image:height: 844 og:image:alt: pol_vance_mcAllister_kissing_congressmen_0429 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Congressman Caught Kissing Aide Won’t Seek Re-election twitter:description: Vance McAllister will serve out the rest of his term but won’t run for Congress again after he was caught smooching a female aide twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt905385a2eeb64d23/69868cee06f2c16b8632ea55/pol_vance_mcallister_kissing_congressmen_0429.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Congressman Caught Kissing Aide Won’t Seek Re-election > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Michelle Arrouas](https://time.com/author/michelle-arrouas/) ## Michelle Arrouas Apr 29, 2014 9:29 AM UTC  Republican Rep. Vance McAllister, right, and his wife Kelly, check in at Monroe Regional Airport on their way to Washington, in Monroe, La., Monday, April 28, 2014. Republican Rep. Vance McAllister, right, and his wife Kelly, check in at Monroe Regional Airport on their way to Washington, in Monroe, La., Monday, April 28, 2014. Emerald Mcintyre—The News-Star/AP by [Michelle Arrouas](https://time.com/author/michelle-arrouas/) ## Michelle Arrouas Apr 29, 2014 9:29 AM UTC A married Republican Congressman from Louisiana who was [caught](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/04/28/vance-mcallister-wont-seek-reelection-but-plans-to-finish-his-term/) on video kissing a female aide will not seek re-election. “Today, I am announcing that I will not seek re-election, but I will continue to be that voice and will uphold the office to which I was elected to serve for the remainder of my term,” Representative Vance McAllister said in a statement Tuesday. The 40-year-old, who won a vacated seat in the House of Representatives in November, touted his Christian beliefs and family values during his election campaign. In the statement, he acknowledged that he has fallen short of those values. “I’ve failed those I care most about and let down the people who elected me to represent them. I take full responsibility for this personal failure and I’m truly sorry for what I’ve done,” he added. McAllister’s wife flew with him to Washington, D.C., this week, and has said she is “behind him 100%” and that their marriage remains intact. The object of his illicit affections, however, has resigned from her post on his staff. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/80646/congressman-caught-kissing-aide-wont-seek-re-election/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/80646/congressman-caught-kissing-aide-wont-seek-re-election/"},"headline":"Congressman Caught Kissing Aide Won’t Seek Re-election","datePublished":"2014-04-29T09:29:06.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:33:00.696Z","description":"Louisiana Rep. 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