Jefferson defeated Democratic state Rep. Karen Carter in a runoff -- even though Carter had secured all the major endorsements and had a better funded campaign, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported.

Jefferson secured a majority of the votes in black neighborhoods in New Orleans and also won in Jefferson Parish, where Sheriff Harry Lee campaigned against Carter.

Louisiana has a non-partisan system in which the two top candidates in the general election face each other in a runoff if no one wins more than 50 percent of the vote.

Jefferson won 30 percent of the vote in the first election, more than any of the dozen or so candidates seeking to unseat him. Most political observers speculated that the anti-Jefferson forces would unite behind Carter, giving her an easy win.

The congressman remains the target of a federal investigation for allegedly taking payoffs. Alleged co-conspirators have pleaded guilty, and Jefferson has said he expects to be indicted.