Republican Anh 'Joseph' Cao holds daughter Betsy, 4, at his victory party after defeating Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., for the 4th Congressional District in New Orleans Saturday, Dec. 6, 2008. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
by Frank James
In something of a surprise, Rep. William 'Cold Cash' Jefferson, the indicted Democratic congressman from New Orleans, was defeated by Anh "Joseph" Cao, a Republican lawyer who will become the first Vietnamese-American in Congress.
What made Jefferson's defeat news was that his district is so overwhelmingly Democratic that many observers just assumed he'd win re-election on that basis alone.
Here's an excerpt from a story on the WWLTV.com, a New Orleans television station with election details:
Anh 'Joseph" Cao received 33,122 votes, or 49 percent to Jefferson's 31,296, or 47 percent in the race for the Second Congressional District seat from Louisiana. He becomes the nation's first Vietnamese-American Congressman.
Jefferson, who is under federal indictment, blamed the low turnout on Hurricane Gustav's delayed elections and the fact that his constituents had to turn out three times in three months.
"I'm sure some people thought I'd already won," he said. "Many did not vote. Most of the people in the district supported us. I think some just ran out of gas."
WWL-TV Political Analyst Clancy DuBos agreed with Jefferson's assessment that he would have more likely succeeded had he been running against Cao on a ballot during the presidential race that featured Barack Obama, but he also said he thought that Jefferson's legal troubles may have finally caught up with him.
Those legal troubles included alleged bribery charges. Federal Bureau of Investigation agents famously found $90,000 in a freezer at Jefferson's residence.
Republicans also apparently held onto a Republican seat in another Louisiana congressional district with GOP Jim Fleming apparently beating Democrat Paul Carmouche by a few hundred votes.
So Republicans have some reasons for cheer during the holiday season. And they were cheering:
Robert 'Mike' Duncan, Republican National Committee chair, issued the following statement after the results of Saturday's elections:
"Voters in Louisiana spoke out today and overwhelmingly embraced the Republican Party's core values when they elected Joseph Cao and John Fleming to Congress. This is truly a victory for the people of Louisiana, having sent two strong, conservative candidates to represent their interests in Washington.
"Louisianans embraced John Fleming's conservative belief that government needs to operate in a more effective and efficient manner and that taxes and spending in Washington should be lower. Voters in the Second District rejected William Jefferson's corruption and embraced Joseph Cao's hard-working approach and commitment to preserving the dignity of all people and serving the greater good...
... "Coupled with the recent Senate win in Georgia, it's clear that Republicans still know how to win elections as we continue to build a solid foundation for the elections in 2010."
Comments
Thank you, Louisiana!
Posted by: MJ | December 7, 2008 10:14 AM
I am glad "dollar Bill" lost. As in Alaska, I am shocked at the amount of people willing to cast their vote for shady politicians. Jefferson needed to go.
Posted by: bill r. | December 7, 2008 10:39 AM
Hope this sends a message to all Members of Congres -
"Behave"
Posted by: Inky | December 7, 2008 10:42 AM
Finally a crooked democrat gets tossed out by the voters - thank you New Orleanes - may Chicago, Cook County, and Illinois now follow suit.
Posted by: Terry | December 7, 2008 12:21 PM
Glad to see it.
Jefferson acted like a Republican anyway, we don't need that kind of stick in the Dem party.
Posted by: kfs | December 7, 2008 12:25 PM
William Jefferson should not of been elected two years ago.
The next Democrat to go should be Charles Rangel. He has been utilizing his position in Congress to enrich himself and his family.
Posted by: Joseph Jankovic | December 7, 2008 4:05 PM
* * * * *
Jefferson acted like a Republican anyway, we don't need that kind of stick in the Dem party.
Posted by: kfs | December 7, 2008 12:25 PM
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That’s a real hoot, kfs. It’s okay that Jefferson is gone because he “acted like a Republican anyway.” That makes it okay that he got replaced by a Republican who, in all likelihood, is going to “act[] like a Republican anyway.” That, in turn, is why he got elected: Because he doesn’t act like Jefferson, who is a Democrat.
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That is also, I suspect, why Bobby Jindal beat the former (Democrat) Governor of Louisiana out of her job. Doing little or nothing in the face of the crisis brought about by Katrina must have appeared to make her “act[] like a Republican …”, which the good people of Louisiana couldn’t possibly stand any longer.
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If this trend keeps up, then the people of Louisiana are going to kick all of its Democrat politicians out of office and replace them with Republicans because they can’t stand the idea that the Democrats are acting like Republicans. I think you really may be on to something here.
Posted by: John W. | December 7, 2008 5:23 PM
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Posted by: John W. | December 7, 2008 5:23 PM
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You're right, Louisiana has long been a bastian of corruption....which is the reason why I'm not surprised that the Republican party is getting a foothold in down there right now while they are losing almost everywhere else.
This seat is just temporary Repub anyway, the Dems voters sat this one out to rid themselves of Jefferson. I'd be willing to bet you all the money you've got stuffed in your little piggy bank right now that next time around this seat goes back to the Dems. Are we on?
Posted by: kfs | December 7, 2008 9:57 PM
William Jefferson's problem was he was in Congress too long. He began to believe he was above the law and not there to make the laws.
I agree that others in Congress are acting the same way. It is time for Nancy Pelosi to do something about Charles Rangel!
Posted by: Pat H | December 8, 2008 7:51 AM
Good riddance to bad rubbish! Now the only thing that would make me happier would be for him to loose his pension. I'm sick and tired of these people who walk all over the public trust get caught and walk out of office well compensated for wrong doing.
Posted by: Paul | December 8, 2008 12:38 PM
kfs:
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I don’t have a little piggy bank, and I consider gambling immoral. Thus, I won’t make any bets. That, however, does not mean I either agree with you or am barred from disputing your point.
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To the contrary, your suggestion that this is just a single aberration doesn’t explain all the other stuff that has happened in Louisiana. Like I mentioned before, Jindal ousted a Democrat for the office of Governor in a statewide election. In addition, Republican John Flemming won the House seat of retiring Republican Jim McCrery in a different race, beating out Democrat Paul Carmouche. As for Mr. Cao who beat out Jefferson, I suspect that his status as “temporary” versus “semi-permanent” might just ride on his voting record in the near future. I say this because I think the race had more to do with the drastic shift in demographics over the last few than it did with Jefferson’s character. To me, that makes more sense because it accounts for the otherwise unaccountable Republican wins across the state.
Posted by: John W. | December 8, 2008 1:52 PM
I say this because I think the race had more to do with the drastic shift in demographics over the last few than it did with Jefferson’s character. To me, that makes more sense because it accounts for the otherwise unaccountable Republican wins across the state.
Posted by: John W. | December 8, 2008 1:52 PM
Yeah, the fact that your President "W" allowed thousands of black people to drown just might change things for awhile in this district. I know it's hard for deadender Repubs like you to think outside of your given "fact" bubble but this is a D+28 distirct and the Dems sat this out specifically because of Jefferson.
Your new super-hero, Piyush Jindal, is going to have to do something before to long or his current status won't last long, in fact I'm already hearing rumblings that he's kind of a joke....exorcism anyone? You're getting as bad as Terry at never being willing to admit you're wrong and always having to have the last word. That's exactly how your Prez, GW Bush, has been the running things the last eight years. It must be some sort of DNA defect that only deadender Repubs like you are afflicted with.
Posted by: kfs | December 8, 2008 10:59 PM