Monday, December 8, 2008

Vietnamese-American elected to Congress

Cain Burdeau (AP)

Republican Anh "Joseph" Cao, with his daughter Sophia Cao, 5, and his wife Kate Cao, talks to reporters after church in New Orleans, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2008. Cao defeated Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., for the 2nd Congressional District in Louisiana, making him the first Vietnamese-American in Congress (AP Photo/Cheryl Gerber).

NEW ORLEANS – The first Vietnamese-American elected to Congress took advantage of dissatisfaction with a longtime incumbent dogged by corruption allegations and reflects the changing nature of New Orleans politics since Hurricane Katrina.

Republican immigration attorney Anh "Joseph" Cao defeated Democratic U.S. William Jefferson on Saturday in an election postponed for a month by Hurricane Gustav.

The victory for a 41-year-old child of Vietnam War refugees was greeted with amazement and drew parallels to last year's election of Gov. Bobby Jindal, an Indian-American Republican. More>>

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