BATON ROUGE, La. — Rep. Bobby Jindal holds a commanding lead heading into tomorrow's gubernatorial primary, but it is not clear whether he can avoid a runoff election.
A poll released last week by Southeastern Louisiana University showed the two-term Republican congressman leading the race with 46 percent of the vote. But a candidate must get 50 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff election Nov. 17.His closest opponents are Democratic state Sen. Walter J. Boasso with 10 percent of the vote, independent businessman John Georges with 9 percent and Democratic Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell with 6 percent.
They are running to replace Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, who decided not to seek re-election in the aftermath of widespread criticism of her response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005. She has not endorsed any of the candidates.
During a recent interview in Lafayette, Mr. Jindal said he is telling supporters to prepare for a runoff, noting that no non-incumbent has ever won the governorship in the first round. If elected, Mr. Jindal would become the country's first Indian-American governor.
| Even the NYT has to praise Mr. Jindal. We're looking at a future GOP presidential/VP candidate on the rise. |
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