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Hoping that New Orleans voters are tired of being
represented by a member of Congress under federal indictment, the National
Republican Congressional Committee has dumped $14,000 into field organizing
efforts against Rep. William Jefferson (D). Jefferson faces Anh “Joseph” Cao in a Saturday runoff.
Republican spending on field organizing in the 2nd district, based in New
Orleans and including parts of Jefferson Parish, is a surprise, given the
district’s heavily Democratic lean. John Kerry scored 75 percent of the vote in
the district in 2004, and the Republican congressional candidate in 2006
finished with just 13 percent of the vote, behind three Democrats. Nearly two
in three district residents are African American. No data has been made public
about how the district voted in this year’s presidential election.
Republicans, though, may conclude that a year of
electoral change is the perfect time for voters to give Jefferson the boot.
Indicted on 16 charges relating to a corruption scandal that earned him the
nickname “Dollar Bill,” Jefferson has been stripped of his congressional
committee assignments and seen his office and home raided by federal agents.
He has also faced constant electoral pressure from within
his own party. In a runoff on Nov. 4, Jefferson beat former TV news anchor
Helena Moreno 57-43 after scoring just 25 percent in the first round. In 2006,
he led the initial field with just 30 percent before winning the runoff with
another 57 percent of the vote.
His Republican opponent this year has a compelling story
to contrast with Jefferson’s. Born in Saigon, Cao fled to the U.S. after the
city's fall in 1975. Cao got his law degree from Loyola University in New
Orleans after studying to be a Jesuit priest.
He still faces an uphill battle given the district's deep
Democratic foundation. But with low turnout expected for Saturday's runoff, and
with Democrats likely to avoid spending on behalf of a candidate who will face
a courtroom before he faces voters next, Republicans may be hoping for an early
Christmas miracle.
Meantime, both parties are spending heavily in
Louisiana's 4th district, where Rep. Jim McCrery (R) is retiring. In that race,
former Webster Parish Coroner and physician John Fleming (R) is locked in a
tight contest with Caddo District Attorney Paul Carmouche (D). The NRCC has
spent $944,000 on the contest, while the Democratic Congressional Campaign
Committee has dropped $1.1 million of its own.
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