Vietnam born, Joseph Cao Wins Rep. William Jefferson Seat

AP–Republican Anh ‘Joseph’ Cao waves as he holds his daughter Betsy Cao, 4, with his wife Kate Hieu Hoang.

Vietnam born, Republican Joseph Cao, 41-year-old, wins Democrat African-American U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, 61-year-old seat. Rep. Jefferson had a baggage going into the election. He has 16 counts of federal indictment that he fighting: bribery, obstruction of justice, wire fraud, money laundering, and racketeering. Government marked $90,000 in cash was allegedly found in his freezer according to FBI agents.

Despite his indictment, Rep. Jefferson was expected by most to win. Only 11 percent of the residents in his district are registered as Republicans. Rep. Jefferson won only 47 percent of the votes. The other 53 percent preferred and voted for the first Vietnamese-American member of Congress in the 2nd Congressional District, which includes most of New Orleans.Cao denied Jefferson a 10th term,thanks to the residents who made an aggressive push to take the seat from incumbent.

How is Cao?

Anh "Joseph" Quang Cao, was born in Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City), Vietnam, the fifth of eight children. He grew up in Vietnam during the most turbulent years of the Vietnamese Civil War and can vividly remember bombs exploding next to his elementary school. After the fall of Saigon in 1975, Joseph fled Vietnam for the safety of the United States.

At the age of eight, Joseph and two of his seven siblings arrived in the United States. He spent his first four years in America where he attended primary school and learned the English language and culture. Eventually, he settled in Houston, Texas, where he graduated from Jersey Village High School and in 1990 earned a Bachelor of Science degree in physics from Baylor University in Waco, Texas.

After graduation, Joseph entered the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits), finally arriving in Louisiana for the first time to begin his religious training at Grand Coteau. During his first two years in the Society, Joseph was sent by his religious superiors to various parts of the world to minister to the poor and indigent. Joseph was then sent to New Orleans in 1992 to study theology and philosophy, furthering his training for the priesthood. He subsequently was accepted to Fordham University in New York, where he earned his Master of Arts degree in philosophy in May 1995. He returned to New Orleans to teach philosophy and ethics at Loyola University. The following year, Joseph left the Society of Jesus and taught at a local parochial school in Virginia.

While in Virginia, Joseph volunteered at Boat People S.O.S., Inc. (BPSOS) to assist poor Vietnamese in their quest for social justice and enculturation and to lobby the U.S. Congress on issues concerning civil and religious rights. He eventually became a board member of BPSOS and served in that capacity from September 1996 to March of 2002.

In September of 1997, Joseph returned to New Orleans to study law at Loyola School of Law and subsequently resumed teaching philosophy at Loyola in 1998. In May of 2000, he obtained his Juris Doctorate from Loyola and began his legal career as an associate at the Waltzer Law Firm.

Cao’s reaction to the win? Perhaps astonished is the best word to describe it.

“Never in my life did I think I could be a future congressman,” he said. “The American dream is well and alive.”

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