Most know about William Jefferson, the disgraced democratic ex-congressman who is currently under more indictments (16 counts of bribery, obstruction of justice, wire fraud, money laundering, and racketeering) than I have fingers and toes to count. But few know of Joseph “Anh” Cao. Cao was the Republican elected in the heavily Democratic 2nd Congressional District of Louisiana district to defeat the 9-time incumbent Jefferson in the past election.

He is a remarkable success story that stems back to the Vietnam War. Born on March 13, 1967 in Saigon, Vietnam, Cao fled the country at the age of 8 with his uncle and two other siblings. His father was imprisoned in a re-education camp by the communist following the fall of South Vietnam and his mother stayed behind to visit him and take care of his other siblings. He grew up in Texas were he earned a physics degree at Baylor University and then became a Jesuit seminarian for six years. He then decided the priesthood was not for him and he returned to school where he earned a master’s degree in philosophy from Fordham University, New York City and then completed his J.D. at Loyola University, New Orleans.

Cao, who is married with two children, previously worked in his private law practice and as a community activist. He was the legal counsel for Boat People S.O.S., an organization helping poor Vietnamese and other minorities. In 2002, he was also chosen by the Archbishop Alfred Hughes to become a member of the National Advisory Council of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, addressing women’s rights in the Catholic Church, social justice, child abuse, and the Catholic response to Hurricane Katrina. It was during Katrina that he lost both his home and his law practice. In 2007, Governor Bobby Jindal appointed Cao to help ensure fair voting as a member of the Board of Elections for Orleans Parish.*

Since being elected he has had a little bit of a mixed voting record. He voted against the Obama administration’s economic stimulus bill but was also one of 5 Republicans who voted for the administration’s $106 billion war supplemental bill. Cao justified this because of funding earmarks for Gulf Coast restoration work.

So far though Cao has been a great reflection of the new Republican Party. Someone who was experienced war, persevered, and then succeeded by not only helping himself but continuing to help others as well. He’s a fresh face to politics and the first Vietnamese-American ever elected to Congress. The future is a little uncertain because he will be in a tough fight for re-election in 2010 in a district that is more than 2-to-1 Democrat to Republican. But knowing what Cao has achieved, I’m going to bet on him.

*Source: The GOP’s Big Tent Blog