WBRZ - Baton Rouge

President Barack Obama is telling New Orleans voters he needs them to vote for the Democrat running for Congress from their city.

Obama tells voters in the ad that "New Orleans needs Cedric Richmond in Congress, and so do I." The state representative is running against Rep. Joseph Cao, a Republican and the nation's first Vietnamese-American congressman.

Cao was an underdog in the mostly Democratic district two years ago, yet defeated scandal-plagued incumbent William Jefferson. Low turnout and Jefferson's indictment - and later conviction - on corruption charges helped Cao win.

Cao has voted with the president at times, including for an expansion of children's health insurance and for new financial institution regulations.