Joseph Cao wins right to fill remaining BESE District 1 term

Joseph Cao, the former Republican congressman who Gov. Jeff Landry picked as a placeholder on the state school board late last year, won the right to take over the job for good in Tuesday’s election.

Cao defeated Democrat Angela Hershey, a retired teacher from Madisonville, to clinch the District 1 seat on the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. He received 64% of the votes from the district that includes parts of Jefferson, Orleans, St. Tammany and Tangipahoa parishes.

The governor chose Cao, an attorney from Harvey, as interim representative for District 1 after its elected officeholder, Paul Hollis of Mandeville, stepped down in December when President Donald Trump named him director of the U.S. Mint. 

Hollis’ unfinished term ends in January 2028, meaning Cao would have to run again next year if he wants to keep the District 1 seat.

This is Cao’s first election victory since he won in the 2nd Congressional District in 2008, becoming the first Republican to accomplish that feat in 180 years. Cao ousted 18-year incumbent William Jefferson, who was in the midst of a federal investigation that would end with his conviction for bribery and racketeering in 2009.

The 2nd District seat returned to Democratic hands after Cedric Richmond defeated Cao outright in a 2010 open primary. 

Cao’s most notable moment from his time in Congress came when he was the only Republican to vote in favor of President Barack Obama’s signature legislation, the Affordable Care Act.

Cao qualified for the Louisiana attorney general’s race in 2011 but dropped out of the race before the election to leave Buddy Caldwell unopposed for re-election.

The next attempt at elected office for Cao was the 2016 U.S. Senate race, in which he finished well behind open primary winners John Kennedy and Foster Campbell.