Joseph Cao: Louisiana’s Newest Congressman

In a stunning upset, Republican Ahn “Joseph” Cao, a Vietnamese immigrant with no political experience, has defeated Democratic incumbent William Jefferson for the U.S. House of Representative’s seat of the 2nd District of Lousiana.

Ahn “Joseph” Cao will represent the 2nd District of Lousiana in the new Congressional term after defeating William Jefferson. Cao, an immigration attorney, is a newcomer to politics and will be the first person of Vietnamese descent to become a representative in Congress. His opponent William Jefferson was plagued by allegations of corruption throughout his campaign and is currently facing federal indictments related to illegal funds received from Nigerian business interests. Jefferson became notorious in Louisiana after the FBI found $90,000 in cash allegedly received as bribes in his freezer.

Though Louisiana is often mocked as a rural backwater by liberals, the state has now elected the first Indian American governor and the first Vietnamese American Congressman. Both are Republicans. Way to go, Lousiana!

Biography of Joseph Cao

Ahn “Joseph” Cao, 41, was born in Saigon in 1967. He fled Vietnam in 1975 with his mother and two siblings when he was eight years old, and came to America as a refugee. His father, a soldier in the South Vietnamese army, was captured and imprisoned by North Vietnamese Communist forces.

Despite a disadvantaged childhood in a refugee community, Cao excelled in academics and went on to study at Baylor University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Physics. He then received a master’s degree in philosophy at Fordham University and considered studying to become a priest before entering law school at Loyola University, where he received a J.D. in 2000.

Since receiving his law degree, he has taught law at Loyola and practiced immigration law in the private sector. He has also served as a board member of Boat People SOS (BPSOS), a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering Vietnamese American communities.

GOP rookie Cao upsets 9-term Rep. William Jefferson in New Orleans

The Republican Party, devastated by the Nov. 4 loss of the White House and more seats in both houses of Congress, got a shred of good news late Saturday.

Anh Joseph Cao, a little-known 41-year-old community organizer and GOP attorney, knocked off nine-term Democratic Rep. William Jefferson in a stunning upset in Louisiana's Second District to become the first Vietnamese American elected to Congress.

In recent years Jefferson has been fighting scandals and a federal indictment for money laundering, bribery and misusing his congressional office, which he denies. Last year the FBI reported finding $90,000 in marked bills in Jefferson's freezer.
But voters in the heavily black (60%) and Democratic (66%) district that covers much of New Orleans had been loyal to him -- until today, when Louisiana held two House elections delayed in the aftermath of September's Hurricane Gustav.

Cao came to the United States as a child in the 1975 evacuation of Saigon and earned degrees in law, physics and philosophy. His new district has only 11% registered Republicans, but with about 80% of the votes counted, Cao was winning 53-43.