Who is Cao?
Anh “Joseph” Quang Cao (Vietnamese: Cao Quang Ánh; born March 13, 1967) is a New Orleans lawyer and the current U.S. Representative from Louisiana’s 2nd congressional district. He is a member of the Republican Party. On December 6, 2008, Cao defeated nine-term Democratic U.S. Representative William Jefferson with 49.6 percent of the vote to Jefferson’s 46.8 percent. Cao is the first Vietnamese American, as well as the first native of Vietnam, to serve in Congress, and the first Republican to serve in his district since 1890; his district usually votes overwhelmingly Democratic. Cao is the poorest member of Louisiana’s delegation (including the state’s two senators) in Congress: as of 2009 his assets were no greater than $195,000 and his potential liabilities mounting to $215,000, including student loans for himself and his wife. Cao previously ran unsuccessfully as an independent for District 103 of the Louisiana House of Representatives. He was a delegate to the 2008 Republican Nation
