BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Republicans kept their distance Tuesday from a Louisiana congressman who asked for forgiveness after a newspaper published a video it says shows him kissing a woman who isn't his wife.
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said he was pleased U.S. Rep. Vance McAllister offered an apology. But Cantor declined to say whether he thought should remain on the job, as McAllister offered no statement about his future plans and the fall-out threatened his November re-election.
McAllister spokeswoman Jennifer Dunagin said Tuesday that the woman in the video, Melissa Peacock, "voluntarily resigned effective yesterday."
McAllister apologized in a statement late Monday pledging "to do everything I can to earn back the trust of everyone I've disappointed" after the video surfaced.
He ran as a political outsider, noting he'd never been to Washington before he was elected to Congress. He relied on his own personal wealth and the national and local attention drawn to his election bid with an endorsement from the bearded men of the popular "Duck Dynasty" reality TV show.
But he also ran on a platform of faith and family, raising questions about whether McAllister's apology will be enough to satisfy voters who supported his election bid. The congressional election is Nov. 4.
Cantor, of Virginia, said McAllister's constituents deserved the apology. He said he would "reserve further judgment" on the burgeoning scandal.
The Ouachita Citizen posted what it said was Dec. 23 surveillance video from inside McAllister's congressional office in Monroe, showing McAllister and a member of his staff kissing.
The surveillance video was filmed just a month after McAllister won a surprise landslide victory in a special November election to represent Louisiana's 5th District, covering the northeastern and central regions of the state.