In 2008, Americans voted many minorities into political offices. Most notably, Sen. Barack Obama was elected the first African-American president.Among these politicians is Anh “Joseph” Cao, the newly elected congressman representing Louisiana’s second congressional district.  Cao was elected Dec. 6 and became the first Vietnamese-American to be sworn into Congress.Murray Nelson, Cao’s public relations representative, said Cao was born in Saigon, Vietnam, during a violent civil war. According to Cao’s campaign Web site, his childhood memories are tainted by the sound of bombs being dropped outside his school. He was the fifth child in a family of eight children. In 1975, when Cao was only eight years old, his family fled Vietnam and came to America. His father, however, was in the army and was imprisoned when he attempted to escape. Cao’s mother was left to raise eight children alone.In the years since Cao emigrated from Vietnam, he has risen from his rough childhood and found success in law and politics.For years, William Jefferson, a Democrat, served as Congressman of Louisiana’s second district. The seat had traditionally been held by Democrats, according to Carl Freedman, an English professor and political science expert. Freedman said besides being the first Vietnamese-American congressman, it is remarkable that Cao won the seat as a Republican.Jefferson served as congressman from 1991 to 2009. Cao defeated Jefferson on Dec. 6. The original election date was postponed because of Hurricane Gustav.Freedman said he thinks Cao won the election because people had grown tired of how “casually corrupt” Jefferson had become. Gaines Foster, University history professor, said Jefferson would have won the election if it had been held in November because of the large number of African-American voters visiting polls to support Obama’s candidacy. Nelson said Cao would like to focus on many issues, including coastal restoration, health care, criminal justice and the education system. Cao is very “community-minded,” Nelson said, and Cao wants to make sure the voice of his community is heard.Nelson said bringing good health care to the New Orleans East area is very important to Cao, who has been seeking disaster relief for hospitals. Recently, Cao received a grant from the Bush administration for $129.7 million to help cover his efforts. He has been diligently working with other delegation members to make his plan possible.After receiving his bachelor’s degree in physics from Baylor University, Cao left Texas to pursue his master’s in theology and philosophy. While studying theology, he was sent to minister around the world. During this time, he began his work combating poverty, according to his campaign Web site. Nelson said Cao started his campaign 10 years ago and has “a great mind for social justice.” Nelson also said Cao wanted to bring his work helping the impoverished in foreign countries to a local level. He decided to run for Congress and focus on issues such as criminal justice and health care.Americans are voting an unprecedented number of minorities into office because “fundamentally, the culture is changing,” Freedman said. He said America, within two to three decades, will become a country of minorities without a majority race. Foster said although there are more politicians from minority groups, America still has problems with race acceptance. However, the elections of Obama and Cao show there is a slow but sure growth towards acceptance.
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Contact Nichole Oden at [email protected]