Cao
BATON ROUGE, La. (Legal Newsline) - Former U.S. Congressman Anh "Joseph" Cao says he plans to run for Louisiana Attorney General this fall.
Cao, the first Vietnamese American to serve in Congress, told the Times-Picayune on Monday that he will challenge now-Republican Attorney General Buddy Caldwell.
"I believe that the people of the state will support a person with strong convictions and with strong values," Cao told the newspaper. "And in my two years in Congress, I have shown that I will not compromise my values for political expediency."
He also said he thinks voters see the attorney general's switch from Democrat to Republican as a "politically expedient... flip flop."
Caldwell officially switched parties on Feb. 2.
Cao served in Congress from 2009 to 2011, representing Louisiana's 2nd Congressional District, and was the first Republican to serve in that district since 1891.
According to the Times-Picayune, he was the only Republican to vote for the House version of President Barack Obama's health care reform. He would eventually vote against the final version because of its abortion language.
He told the newspaper that he is confident he can raise enough money to make a run for the Attorney General's Office.
Cao earned a bachelor's degree in physics at Baylor University. He later earned a master's degree in philosophy from Fordham University and in 2000, he graduated from Loyola University School of Law in New Orleans.
From Legal Newsline: Reach Jessica Karmasek by e-mail at jessica@legalnewsline.com.