By Kevin McGill
The Associated Press
Joseph Cao
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Former U.S. Rep. Joseph Cao, the Vietnamese American Republican who won, then lost a mostly Black, mostly Democratic congressional district in New Orleans, says he will run for statewide office this fall against Attorney General Buddy Caldwell, a recent Republican convert.
In an interview, Cao said that the state needs a principled leader in the attorney general’s office.
He accused Caldwell of switching from the Democratic to the Republican party out of political expediency.
One campaign point is likely to be the state’s reaction to last year’s BP oil spill. Caldwell’s campaign website says Caldwell hasn’t been afraid to stand up to the oil giant, but Cao says he will be more aggressive in protecting the state’s economic, environmental, and health interests. ♦