Indicted Louisiana congressman loses re-election bid

[cnn-photo-caption image="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/POLITICS/12/06/louisiana.congress/art.jefferson.gi.jpg" caption="Louisiana Democratic Rep. William Jefferson has been embroiled in a bribery scandal."](CNN) - Nine-term Democratic Rep. William Jefferson, who has been battling scandals and a federal indictment for the past three years, lost his bid for re-election on Saturday.

Republican challenger Anh "Joseph" Cao, an attorney and community organizer, defeated Jefferson in the Louisiana 2nd Congressional district race. He will become the first Vietnamese-American elected to Congress.

With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Cao had almost 50 percent of the vote to Jefferson's 47 percent.

The 2nd Congressional district, in and around New Orleans, is mostly African-American and heavily Democratic, and Jefferson appeared to be favored to win re-election going into the election.

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