Frederica Wilson finds a fellow hat fan in Congress

Looks like Frederica Wilson may have found an ally in her crusade to lift the congressional ban on wearing hats on the House floor.

The newly elected Florida Democrat has found a soul mate, at least in terms of headgear, in Billy Long, a freshman Republican from Missouri who shares Wilson's affinity for cowboy hats.

As the Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader's Cory de Vera reports, Wilson and Long spied each other across the room at a recent breakfast for freshman members of Congress — not exactly a chance encounter, since they were the only two wearing hats.

"He saw me when we were sitting down to breakfast, and he said he wears hats, too," Wilson tells the paper.

The pair now refer to themselves as the Cowboy Hat Caucus — though it's unlikely their bonding will extend to anything beyond Stetsons. Wilson, a liberal Democrat from Miami, was endorsed by Planned Parenthood and campaigned in support of President Obama's policies. Long, a conservative who is staunchly anti-abortion, ran his whole campaign against the Obama agenda.

Both acknowledge they haven't talked politics at all, but Long did offer his new colleague some tips on where to score decent hats in Missouri.

(Photo of Wilson: Alan Diaz/AP)