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Rep. Charles Boustany, R-La., was reelected to Congress Saturday, defeating fellow Pelican State Republican Rep. Jeff Landry in a runoff contest that closes the book on the 2012 election.

The Associated Press called the race for Boustany at about 10 p.m. Eastern time. With 48 percent of precincts reporting, Boustany led his freshman colleague 56 percent to 44 percent.

Boustany also outpaced Landry in the November general election, 45 percent to 30 percent, but their campaigns were forced into December because neither won a majority last time.

The two Republicans were both forced into Louisiana's 3rd Congressional District after the state lost a seat in redistricting this cycle, and Boustany leveraged a geographic advantage to claim the new seat. Boustany represented over three-quarters of the new district, and even though Landry outpaced him in a few parishes, the areas from Boustany's old district powered him to victory.

Landry attempted to turn the contest into a tea party-style referendum, blasting Boustany as an insider, big government Republican and as less committed to lowering taxes and spending. But Boustany refused to shy away from his establishment connections, using them to outraise Landry while touting his work with Speaker John Boehner on the trail. Boustany's less strident tone also helped secure the endorsement of the third-place November finisher, Democrat Ron Richard, for the runoff.