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'''William Franklin Spooner''', known as '''Frank Spooner''' (born September 9, 1937), is an [[oil]] and [[natural gas]] producer in [[Monroe, Louisiana|Monroe]] in Ouachita Parish in northeastern [[Louisiana]], who has been active since the early 1970s in his state's [[Republican Party]]. In the fall of 1976, Spooner waged a strong but losing race for the [[United States House of Representatives]] for Louisiana's 5th congressional district in a bid to succeed incumbent Otto Ernest Passman, who had been unseated in the [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] [[primary]] by [[farmer]]/[[business]]man Thomas Jerald "Jerry" Huckaby, then from Ringgold in Bienville Parish. Therefore, instead of facing Passman, as he had expected, Spooner competed with Huckaby for a relatively rare open seat in the state's congressional delegation.​

'''William Franklin Spooner''', known as '''Frank Spooner''' (born September 9, 1937), is an [[oil]] and [[natural gas]] producer in [[Monroe, Louisiana|Monroe]] in Ouachita Parish in northeastern [[Louisiana]], who has been active since the early 1970s in his state's [[Republican Party]]. In the fall of 1976, Spooner waged a strong but losing race for the [[United States House of Representatives]] for Louisiana's 5th congressional district in a bid to succeed incumbent Otto Ernest Passman (1900-1988), who had been unseated in the [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] [[primary]] by [[farmer]]/[[business]]man Thomas Jerald "Jerry" Huckaby, then from Ringgold in Bienville Parish. Therefore, instead of facing Passman, as he had expected, Spooner competed with Huckaby for a relatively rare open seat in the state's congressional delegation.​

==Background==

==Background==

Over the years, Spooner has supported former Governor [[Bobby Jindal]], former U.S. Senator [[David Vitter]], elected as Breaux's successor in 2004, and former U.S. Representative Rodney Alexander, who held the seat that Spooner contested from 2003 to 2013, by which time the district had expanded far south into Rapides and Avoyelles parishes and even into the Florida Parishes east of Baton Rouge. In 2004, Spooner contributed to Alexander's unsuccessful intraparty rival, former State Representative John Wyeth "Jock" Scott (1947-2009) of Alexandria.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.city-data.com/elec/elec-MONROE-LA.html|title=Monroe, Louisiana (LA) Political Contributions by Individuals|publisher=city-data.com|accessdate=September 17, 2013}}</ref> In 2007, Spooner donated to the presidential campaign of former Governor [[Mike Huckabee]] of Arkansas because he wanted a candidate with executive experience.<ref>''Louisiana History'', p. 353.</ref> ​

Over the years, Spooner has supported former Governor [[Bobby Jindal]], former U.S. Senator [[David Vitter]], elected as Breaux's successor in 2004, and former U.S. Representative Rodney Alexander, who held the seat that Spooner contested from 2003 to 2013, by which time the district had expanded far south into Rapides and Avoyelles parishes and even into the Florida Parishes east of Baton Rouge. In 2004, Spooner contributed to Alexander's unsuccessful intraparty rival, former State Representative John Wyeth "Jock" Scott (1947-2009) of Alexandria.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.city-data.com/elec/elec-MONROE-LA.html|title=Monroe, Louisiana (LA) Political Contributions by Individuals|publisher=city-data.com|accessdate=September 17, 2013}}</ref> In 2007, Spooner donated to the presidential campaign of former Governor [[Mike Huckabee]] of Arkansas because he wanted a candidate with executive experience.<ref>''Louisiana History'', p. 353.</ref> ​

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==Personal life==

==Personal life==

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