2007 Louisiana gubernatorial election

Background

Louisiana state elections, with the exception of U.S. presidential elections (and congressional races from 2008 until 2010), followed a variation of the open primary system called the jungle primary. Candidates of any and all parties are listed on one ballot, and unless one candidate takes more than 50 percent of the vote in the first round, a run-off election is then held between the top two candidates, who may in fact be members of the same party.

The filing deadline for candidates was September 6.

Hurricane Katrina and Blanco administration

Incumbent Kathleen Blanco originally planned to run for re-election, but she entered the year facing a significant erosion in her popular support, in large part to perceptions of inadequate performance in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In November 2006, Blanco had an approval rating of 39 percent.

In December 2006, Blanco called a special session of the legislature which she intended to use to pass $2.1 billion in tax cuts, teacher raises, road projects, and other spending programs. Legislators allied with Blanco attempted to lift a constitutional spending cap, but Republicans defeated the proposed measures. The high-profile defeat further eroded Blanco's political reputation.{{cite news

Blanco also faced increasingly strong accusations of delays and incompetence in administering the Road Home Program, a state-run program Blanco set up following Katrina to distribute federal aid to victims. By January 2007, fewer than 250 of an estimated 100,000 applicants had received payments, and many payments apparently underestimated the costs of damages.{{cite news

By January 2007, early opinion polls showed Blanco trailing Bobby Jindal by over 20 percent. Blanco began her campaign by repeatedly criticizing of the administration of President George W. Bush, noting that Bush neglected to mention Gulf Coast reconstruction in his 2007 State of the Union Address and calling for a bipartisan congressional investigation into the conduct of the Bush administration following Katrina to determine whether partisan politics played a role in the slow response to the storm.{{cite news

Candidates

Democratic Party

• Walter Boasso, Republican state senator from St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes and shipping magnate{{cite news
• Foster Campbell, member of the Public Service Commission and former state senator
• Vinny Mendoza, Kenner resident, Korean War veteran, and perennial candidate
• Hardy Parkerson, Lake Charles attorney
• Mary Volentine Smith, retired Winnsboro hairdresser

Withdrew

• Kathleen Blanco, incumbent governor since 2004{{cite news
• John Breaux, lobbyist and former U.S. senator{{cite news

Declined

• John Kennedy, Louisiana State Treasurer
• Mitch Landrieu, lieutenant governor since 2004{{cite news
• Charlie Melançon, U.S. representative from Napoleonville
• Ray Nagin, mayor of New Orleans

Republican Party

• Bobby Jindal, U.S. representative from Kenner, former Secretary of Health and Hospitals, and candidate for governor in 2003

Withdrew

• David Vitter, U.S. senator since 2005 and former U.S. representative

Independent

• Belinda Alexandrenko, Lafayette resident and candidate for governor in 1995 and 1999 (Independent)
• Sheldon Forest, Maurice resident (Independent)
• Anthony Gentile, oil refinery supervisor from Mandeville (Independent)
• John Georges, New Orleans businessman and owner of the Baton Rouge Morning Advocate (Independent)
• T. Lee Horne III, real estate salesman from Franklin (Libertarian)
• Jim Nichols, Donaldsonville resident and candidate for governor in 1995 (Independent)

Campaign

In early 2007, a number of prominent Democratic figures declined to run. On March 20, following weeks of calls from her own party to step aside, Blanco announced that she would not run for re-election. Former U.S. senator John Breaux, who was a leading candidate to succeed her, faced charges that he would be ineligible to run as a resident and registered voter in Maryland since 2005; he announced on April 13 that he would not be a candidate. On April 17, lieutenant governor Mitch Landrieu also declined to run.

Due to the lack of a high-profile Democratic candidate, party leaders approached Republican state senator Walter Boasso; Boasso formally switched to the Democratic Party on April 26.{{cite news |access-date = 2007-04-27 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070428074419/http://blog.nola.com/times-picayune/2007/04/boasso_makes_switch_to_democra.html |archive-date = 2007-04-28 |url-status = dead

Foster Campbell, a cattle farmer and insurance businessman from Bossier Parish who served on the Public Service Commission, was a long time advocate for regulating and lowering utility rates. A centerpiece of his populist campaign is a proposal to tax foreign oil refined in Louisiana and use the proceeds to eliminate personal income tax.

By April, two Republicans had emerged as the leading fundraisers in the race. John Georges, a wealthy businessman, had $5.5 million cash on hand and Bobby Jindal, who had led the Republicans in 2003 and narrowly lost to Blanco, had received $5 million in campaign financing. Although Georges would later leave the Republican Party to run as an independent, the financial and polling strength of the two Republicans presented a tremendous challenge to Democratic Party recruitment.

In late late August, an ad campaign by the Louisiana Democratic Party attacked Bobby Jindal on the basis of supposed inflammatory remarks made about Protestantism. The ad was solely aired in the largely Protestant central and northern districts of the state. The ad drew attention to essays Jindal had written over a decade previously discussing his Catholic faith and conversion. One such essay was titled "How Catholicism Is Different – The Catholic Church Isn't Just Another Denomination" was published in 1996 in the New Oxford Review. Jindal said about the ad, "They're absolute lies. We're not talking about an exaggeration." A letter from Jindal's campaign said, "each claim made in the advertisement distorts Mr. Jindal's positions with false and grossly distorted statements."

Polling

Predictions

Results

References

References

1. link. (September 19, 2008)
2. Bobby, Jindal. (Dec 1996). "''How Catholicism Is Different – The Catholic Church Isn't Just Another Denomination''". New Oxford Review.
3. Moller, Jan. (2007-08-22). "Jindal wants religious insult claims dropped". [[New Orleans Times-Picayune]].
4. [http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20071011/APN/710110957 Loyola Institute of Politics] {{Webarchive. link. (2008-01-26)
5. [https://web.archive.org/web/20071123105649/http://wwl.com/New-Poll%3A-Jindal-leads-but-many-still-undecided/1074678 Southeastern Louisiana University]
6. [http://www.businessreport.com/archives/daily-report/latest/ Kitchens Group]
7. link. (September 27, 2007)
8. [https://web.archive.org/web/20070817231539/http://blog.nola.com/times-picayune/2007/08/jindal_leads_comfortably_in_la.html Southern Media and Opinion Research]
9. [http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/8589487.html Anzalone Liszt Research] {{Webarchive. link. (September 29, 2007)
10. [https://web.archive.org/web/20070710142052/http://www.swingstateproject.com/showDiary.do Verne Kennedy]
11. [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927234709/http://www.bayoubuzz.com/News/Louisiana/Politics/Governor_race/Louisiana_Governor_Race_Dilemmas__3182.asp Southern Media and Opinion Research]
12. [https://web.archive.org/web/20160424174911/http://jeffsadow.blogspot.com/2006_03_19_archive.html Verne Kennedy]
13. (September 2017)
14. "22007 Gubernatorial Contests and Virginia General Assembly Update".