Editing Rodney Alexander (section)

===Elections===
;2002
Alexander won his seat in 2002 as a Democrat, but ran in 2004 as a Republican, changing parties on 6 August 2004, only three months before the election and only 30 minutes before the filing deadline. The move was derided by Democrats [[Robert Matsui]] and [[Mary Landrieu]] as being "cowardly".<ref name=econ>{{cite news|title=Democrats Bitter Over 'Cowardly' Alexander's Party Switch|url=http://www.economist.com/node/3084238|access-date=October 4, 2011|newspaper=Roll Call via the Economist|date=Aug 12, 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019164415/http://www.economist.com/node/3084238|archive-date=October 19, 2013|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

;2004
On August 4, 2004, he registered to run as a Democrat, but changed his registration to Republican two days later. He then defeated a fellow Republican, the late [[Jock Scott (politician)|Jock Scott]] of [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]] in the open primary that November.<ref name=econ /> In 2006, he defeated the Democrat Gloria Williams Hearn, wife of the [[psychologist]] George E. Hearn of [[Pineville, Louisiana|Pineville]], Louisiana. His party switch became official on August 9, 2004.

;2010
{{See also|2010 United States House of Representatives elections in Louisiana#District 5}}
Alexander defeated Richard Todd Slavant of Monroe in the Republican [[closed primary]] by a margin of nearly 9–1. He faced [[Independent (politics)|Independent]] Tom Gibbs, Jr., of [[Ouachita Parish, Louisiana|Ouachita Parish]] in the November 2 general election and won easily. No Democratic candidate had filed for the position, once held by such long-serving party members as [[Jerry Huckaby]] and [[Otto Passman]]. During this election, he joined the [[Tea Party Caucus]].

;2012
Alexander drew two last-minute challengers in his successful 2012 bid for a sixth term in the U.S. House.<ref>{{cite news|title=U.S. Rep. Rodney Alexander draws challenger; all incumbents now opposed|url=http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/08/last_day_of_qualifying_for_con.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130705093737/http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/08/last_day_of_qualifying_for_con.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 5, 2013|access-date=15 October 2012|newspaper=The Times Picayune|date=August 17, 2012}}</ref> Alexander handily prevailed with 202,531 votes (77.8 percent). The [[Libertarian Party (United States)|Libertarian]] Clay Steven Grant received 20,194 votes (7.8 percent), and the No-Party candidate, Ron Caesar, polled 37,486 votes (14.4 percent).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://staticresults.sos.la.gov/11062012/11062012_Congressional.html|title=Louisiana election returns, November 6. 2012|publisher=staticresults.sos.la.gov|access-date=November 11, 2012}}</ref>

During the 2012 election Alexander's campaign raised a total of $1,235,114. $942,083 were spent leaving the campaign with a surplus of $295,079 and no debt.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://votesmart.org/candidate/campaign-finance/4545/rodney-alexander#.UKlFCYeZmSo|title=Rodney Alexander's Campaign Finances – Project Vote Smart|access-date=7 September 2014}}</ref> Major contributors to Alexander's campaign came from a variety of business interests including the crop production industry, the oil and gas industry, commercial banks, and general contractors. Top individual contributors include Adams and Reese, the Livingston Group, O'Neal Gas, and Kadav Inc.