Our favorite Pol ought to win this time.
Jindal Sets Up Rematch with Blanco for Louisiana Governorship
By Greg Giroux | 3:32 PM; Jan. 22, 2007 | Email This Article
Louisiana Republican Rep. Bobby Jindal announced Monday that he will run for governor this year — a widely expected decision that will set up a rematch with Democratic Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco in the state that was devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita two summers ago.
"Our state, our communities, and our families have been through some very tough times. There is clearly a hunger for a new approach to governing." Jindal, who represents the 1st District near New Orleans, said in a letter to supporters.
Jindal is in a much stronger position than in 2003, when he ran for governor as a first-time candidate after holding a series of high-ranking state and federal appointed positions. Even then, he finished atop the field in the first-round vote before falling to Blanco, then the lieutenant governor, by 4 percentage points in the runoff.
One recent independent poll had Jindal leading Blanco by more than 20 percentage points. Blanco's popularity nosedived in the late summer of 2005, following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, when Louisiana residents were angered by inadequate recovery efforts by national, state and local officials.
Under Louisiana law, a primary election will be held Oct. 20 and will include candidates of all parties on a single ballot. A candidate who receives a majority of all votes cast is elected; otherwise, the top two vote-getters, regardless of party affiliation, will compete in a Nov. 17 runoff election.
Blanco, Jindal and other prospective candidates must file candidate qualifying papers between Sept. 4 and Sept. 6.
Jindal said that he would begin formally campaigning this summer, after the Louisiana legislature concludes its session.
"I want to avoid D.C.-style politics with mudslinging, and instead focus on solving the problems that our state faces," Jindal said. "By choosing to start the campaign in the summer, we will give the people of Louisiana plenty of time to weigh their choice in this crucial decision about our state's current and future direction."
Jindal, an Indian-American, has amassed an impressive resume at age 35. A former Rhodes Scholar, Jindal was in his mid-20s when Republican Gov. Mike Foster tapped him to head Louisiana's Health and Hospitals Department. Jindal was a senior official in the federal Department of Health and Human Services from 2001 until 2003, when he left to run for governor.
After losing to Blanco, Jindal pivoted in 2004 to the House race in the strongly Republican-leaning 1st District, which GOP Rep. David Vitter was leaving open to pursue a Senate race that was successful. Jindal took a whopping 78 percent of the vote in the all-party election.
In his first term, Jindal was a high-profile advocate of legislation to overhaul the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and to secure offshore drilling revenue for coastal restoration efforts.
Jindal won a second term last November even more impressively, taking 88 percent of the vote in a field that included two little-known Democrats and a Libertarian candidate.
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