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Louisiana Voters Choosing New Governor

Posted on: Saturday, 15 November 2003, 06:00 CST

Louisiana voters, who have seen only white men fill their governor's chair for the past century, were given a choice of firsts Saturday: elect the state's first woman governor or the first non-white governor in the Deep South since Reconstruction.

Polls leading up to the runoff revealed an extremely close race. In the latest, Republican Bobby Jindal, the son of Indian immigrants, led Democrat Kathleen Blanco, the 60-year-old Cajun lieutenant governor, by a mere four percentage points.

If Jindal prevailed, he would become the fourth Republican governor elected within the last two months, after California, Kentucky and Mississippi. At 32, he also would be the nation's youngest governor. And for the first time since Reconstruction, the highest offices in every Deep South state - Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina - would be occupied by Republicans.

Karey Victoriano, 24, said Saturday that she voted for Jindal, a political rookie who was an assistant health secretary under President Bush, partly because she liked his focus on the state's economy.

"He's got a young family, and he's worried about his children not having a future here," said Victoriano, a new mother from the New Orleans suburb of Marrero. "I get the feeling he would work hard to change that."

Blanco, a Democrat with a 20-year record in public office, finished second behind Jindal in a six-candidate primary Oct. 4 with strong support in both her native Acadiana and among women.

"It's time a woman steps in, and I think she's the right one for the job," said Leuna Davis, 43, of Gretna, who said she voted for Blanco. "She's been in the system longer, and she's more established."

Both candidates focused their campaigns on promises to bring jobs to Louisiana, which has been struggling near the bottom in most national economic indicators and the only Southern state to experience a net outmigration of population in the 1990s.

With their approaches differing little - lower taxes on business, no new taxes on citizens - the race came down to style, personality and resume.

Jindal, a Rhodes Scholar born and raised in Baton Rouge, sought to neutralize possible opposition based on his ethnicity. He campaigned far to the right, running radio ads extolling the Ten Commandments, deriding gun control, and promoting his strong Catholic faith.

"It's not about race, it's about which candidate has the qualifications and experience to lead our state forward," Jindal said last week.

Just as conservative as Jindal on social questions, Blanco portrayed herself as an advocate for children and families.

While both carved out blocs of fervent supporters, many voters in this tradition-bound state appeared befuddled by the choice - either because of resistance to supporting a woman or a non-white, or because the two candidates were so close ideologically.

Less than a week before the election, 12 percent of the electorate had not made up their minds according to the latest poll. The poll, conducted Monday through Wednesday by Marketing Research Institute of Pensacola, Fla., had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

"I'm really undecided," said Tommy Schwebel, a fireman in Amite, 80 miles north of New Orleans. "The ones I talk to out in the street, they don't want to vote for either one of them."

This is the same state where, just over a decade ago, a majority of white men voted for former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke. Its last non-white governor was P.B.S. Pinchback, son of an emancipated slave, who served as governor for 35 days in 1872-73.

Stacy Tanguis, 32, said Saturday she was proud of Louisiana for selecting two historic candidates in the primary.

"It says we've come a long way, and we're ready for a change," she said.

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On the Net:

http://www.bobbyjindal.com

http://www.kathleenblanco.com

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