Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon narrowly won his special election in an open primary Saturday with just over half of the vote--enough to avoid a runoff contest.
Mr. Donelon, a Republican, faced a spirited challenge from fellow party member State Sen. James David Cain, R-Dry Creek, who received 39 percent of the vote.
The commissioner assumed office earlier this year following the resignation of Robert Wooley and will serve out his term, which ends in 2007.
Mr. Donelon's win came after a bruising campaign in which opponents questioned his performance in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and his personal integrity.
By winning 50.07 percent of the vote, he will not have to participate in a Nov. 7 runoff election. If no candidate had achieved more than 50 percent of the total vote in the special election, state law would have required a runoff election.
Mr. Donelon had 282,366 votes to his opponents' totals, which included Republican State Sen. David Cain, with 222,417 votes (39.3 percent), and Libertarian Party candidate Francis Heitmeier, with 60,094 votes (10.6 percent), according to a release from the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies.
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