the long, hard road to re-election

Here's a recent article on Congressman Anh 'Joseph' Cao of Louisiana, who made headlines as the one and only Republican who voted for President Obama's health care plan, and is walking a very delicate tightrope between two parties: A lonely road for a political novice.

He's a Vietnamese American Republican Congressman representing a district that is overwhelming black and Democratic. His December 2008 victory against a criminally indicted incumbent was one of those once-in-a-lifetime longshot upset wins where all the conditions were just right. The question is, can he do it again?

Cao is determined to win a second term in November by "ignoring party labels, acting independently, voting his conscience and working hard for the people of this hard-pressed, Katrina-battered city." Easier said than done -- the Congressman has already upset people on both sides.

He's got his work cut out for him, with one of the toughest re-election contests in the nation. But he has reportedly raised the most money of any member of the Louisiana congressional delegation during the last three months of 2009. In this game, that does count for something. More here: Rep. Anh 'Joseph' Cao leads fundraising among Louisianians in Congress.