Cold Cash Jefferson - good riddance

Interesting to see he seems to have been replaced by the first Vietnamese American to be elected to Congress.
 
Wow. I guess I was too cynical about the African-American vote. I thought that Jefferson was safe because of gerrymandering and the majority black district. If anything I thought he would have lost in the primaries, but not in the general.

But this, along with Ted Stevens' loss, is good news for those against corruption. I still think that Charlie Rangel is so safe that he could do almost anything and still get re-elected (he consistently gets over 90% of the votes).
 
This article gives a few clues about why Jefferson lost:

National Republicans backing Cao emphasized the corruption allegations against Jefferson, Louisiana's first black congressman since Reconstruction. Cao won with 50 percent of the vote to Jefferson's 47 percent in a district dominated by African-Americans and Democrats.

Cao ran an enthusiastic and well-financed grass-roots campaign, but it was a series of improbable circumstances starting with Jefferson's indictment that led to his victory.

Hobbled by the scandal, Jefferson drew six opponents in this year's Democratic primary and had to fight for a runoff victory Nov. 4, when Barack Obama's presence on the national ballot generated higher black turnout.

An analysis of Saturday's results show turnout was low, about 30 percent, for white voters, but even lower, about 15 percent, for black voters.

Bill Rouselle, a New Orleans political consultant, said many black voters either thought Cao had little chance of winning or didn't realize the state's election system had recently changed and Jefferson still had to face a Republican opponent after winning the party primary runoff.

Had hurricanes Ike and Gustav not forced officials to delay primaries, the general election would have been Nov. 4. As the Democratic candidate, Jefferson likely would have benefited from the Obama-fueled turnout, which exceeded 40 percent in predominantly black precincts.
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The lack of Obama's coattails was probably what did him in. And even then he only lost by 3%.
 
Maybe he can join Ted Stevens in a game of cribbage...
 
Bill Rouselle, a New Orleans political consultant, said many black voters either thought Cao had little chance of winning or didn't realize the state's election system had recently changed and Jefferson still had to face a Republican opponent after winning the party primary runoff.
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The state's election system didn't have a general election in addition to the primary? How was the state's election system recently changed?
 
davefoc said:
The state's election system didn't have a general election in addition to the primary? How was the state's election system recently changed?
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I think it might refer to the rescheduling of the day of the general election, not the fact of having a general election.
 
If the new GOP representative gets caught with his hand in the till, he'll be called

Anh "Cash" Cao

:duck:
 
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