Rodney Alexander
Rodney McKinnie Alexander (born December 5, 1946) is an American politician and member of the Republican Party who served as the Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs from September 30, 2013 until June 3, 2014. Previously he was the U.S. Representative for Louisiana's 5th congressional district from 2003 to 2013. First elected as a Democrat, he changed parties a half hour before the filing deadline on August 6, 2004. He was re-elected as a Republican five times. His district covered twenty-four parishes in roughly the northeast quadrant of the state but stretched much further south as a result of the 2010 census. On August 6, 2013, Alexander announced that he would not seek a seventh term in the House in the 2014 congressional elections. He cited his weariness with partisanship in Washington, D.C. as the primary reason for his decision to retire. On August 7, Alexander moved up his timetable for departure from Congress. He resigned his seat effective September 27; a special election was held to replace him, and an upset victory went to a political newcomer without support from the Republican leadership, Vance McAllister, a businessman from Monroe, who is leaving the post effective January 3, 2015. Alexander joined the administration of Governor Bobby Jindal as the new secretary of the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs but remained in that post for only eight months. Upon resigning as veterans affairs secretary, Alexander did not indicate his future plans, but an aide told media representatives that Alexander is looking at opportunities in the private sector and would not be running for Congress to succeed McAllister.