Jindal Would Defeat Blanco in Louisiana
January 21, 2007

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Republican Bobby Jindal is the early favourite in Louisiana’s gubernatorial race, according to a poll by Southern Media and Opinion Research. 58.5 per cent of respondents would support Jindal, while 34.7 per cent would vote for incumbent Kathleen Blanco.

In Louisiana, existing regulations allow several candidates—regardless of party allegiance—to take part in an "open" gubernatorial contest. The top two vote-getters ultimately reach a run-off.

Blanco—a Democrat—won the November 2003 run-off over Jindal with 52 per cent of the vote. Blanco became the state’s first female head of government in January 2004. She had previously served as Louisiana’s lieutenant governor from 1996 to 2004.

Jindal served as assistant planning and evaluation secretary at the U.S. health and human services department from 2001 to 2003. In 2004, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives. Jindal could become the first Indian-American win a gubernatorial election in the U.S.

In July 2006, Blanco announced she would seek a new term in office. Public service commissioner Foster Campbell and lawyer Hardy Parkerson have announced they would run as Democrats. The list of Republican contenders includes Jindal and state senator Walter Boasso.

The "open" gubernatorial election in Louisiana is scheduled for Sept. 6, with the run-off following on Nov. 17.

Polling Data

For whom would you vote if the election for governor were between Democrat Kathleen Blanco and Republican Bobby Jindal?

Bobby Jindal (R)

58.5%

Kathleen Blanco (D)

34.7%

Undecided

4.5%

Don’t know / Won’t say

2.3%

Source: Southern Media and Opinion Research
Methodology: Interviews with 600 likely Louisiana voters, conducted from Jan. 12 to Jan. 14, 2007. Margin of error is 4 per cent.