GOP Lawmaker’s Health-Care Vote May Boost Re-election Odds

Brody Mullins reports from Washington on Congress Heading into this weekend, Republican Rep. Anh “Joseph” Cao of Louisiana was considered by some political pundits as the single, most-likely Republican lawmaker to lose re-election in 2010. Cao may have given his career a little self-administered CPR on Saturday night, when he became the only Republican in the House to cross party lines and vote for the Democrats’ health-care legislation. Elected on the GOP ticket in the 2008 election, Cao won one of the most-Democratic districts in the country.  In the presidential election the same year, Barack Obama received about three times as many votes as Republican John McCain in that district. One factor behind Cao’s victory was that his Democrat opponent, incumbent Rep. William Jefferson, was awaiting trial on 16 counts of corruption after authorities found bundles of cash stuffed in his freezer. Despite being under indictment, Jefferson lost to Cao by less than 2,000 votes. Some political ... (link)