It didn't take a miracle to unseat Bill Jefferson, just a hurricane. Amazingly it wasn't Katrina. It was Gustav.

The primaries were postponed so the election on November 4, 2008 that saw Barack Obama elected to the White House was just another primary victory for Dollar Bill. The general election wasn't scheduled until December 6th.

Money was tight, especially for Jefferson with his legal problems so campaigning was limited. The race stretched on past the euphoria of the national elections into the holiday season. In a final irony, Ray Nagin endorsed Jefferson even while many other political regulars ignored this race or even endorsed Jefferson's opponents. (Note that Nagin's endorsements have often been the "kiss of death" in New Orleans politics.)

By the time of the general election, many of Jefferson's supporters may have believed he had been reelected. In any case, few turned out on December 6. So with historically low turnout, Anh Cao, became the first Vietnamese American ever elected to Congress, in a narrow (3%) victory.