Democrat Bill “Cold Cash Jefferson” Loses His Seat In Louisiana To First Vietnamese-American in Congress

Posted by on 12/7/2008

The voters did what the Democratic leadership failed to do, they sent the crook packing!

“The people of the 2nd District have spoken,” Cao, 41, told supporters at a restaurant near the French Quarter. “We want new direction. We want action. We want accountability.”

In a speech that was gracious but stopped short of concession, Jefferson blamed low voter turnout for his showing and said supporters may have thought he was a shoo-in after he won a Nov. 4 primary in the predominantly black and heavily Democratic district.  About Cao

Tim used this quote from the NYT’s which suggests that the system failed, that a black-majority district failed to work as it was designed. Nossiter found that the problem was a surge of white voters angered by corruption charges:

The upset victory by the lawyer, Anh Cao, was thought by analysts to be the result of a strong turnout by white voters angered over federal corruption charges against Mr. Jefferson, a black Democrat who was counting on a loyal [read: black] base to return him to Congress for a 10th term….

In heavily white precincts, turnout was about 26 percent, while it was only about 12 percent in the heavily black precincts, said Greg Rigamer, a New Orleans demographer and analyst.

The exact percentage of blacks here, like the population itself, is unknown after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, but is thought to be 55 percent to 60 percent, down from around 70 percent before the storm. The City Council has turned majority-white after years of being led by blacks.

“It’s clearly shifted,” Mr. Rigamer said of the population. “You have fewer African-Americans in the city than previously.”

But Mr. Rigamer also suggested that the corruption charges against Mr. Jefferson pushed whites to the polls in unusual numbers. “The bottom line,” he said, “is this is an issue-driven race that ignited turnout in the white community.”

So is the author suggesting that blacks don’t care about corruption?  Did it ever occur to Adam that the blacks who didn’t come out to vote,  were protesting against Jefferson and his corruption?  Check out the New Orleans Times-Picayune coverage.

MIchelle has more

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Democrats, Economy, Elections, National News, Politicians, Republican, State/Local Elections '08, , ,

2 Comments.

  1. Up North Mommy Talks Politics » Dollar Bill Jefferson defeated - pingback on 12/7/2008 at December 7, 2008 - 12:03 PM
  2. MishMashZone » Louisiana: William Jefferson defeated by Republican Cao - pingback on 12/7/2008 at December 7, 2008 - 12:20 PM

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