Nine candidates, including four Democrats, one Libertarian, and four non-party candidates have filed papers to challenge Lousiana Gov. Bobby Jindal in an October election. The deadline for qualifying for the gubernatorial election was 5:00 p.m. on Thursday.
Gov. Jindal was highly favored to win re-election even before State Sen. Robert Marionneaux, Jr. declined to run. The New Orleans Times-Picayune reported that an August 29–30 poll commissioned by the Republican Party of Louisiana showed Jindal with nearly 59 percent support, Marionneaux with 8 percent, and schoolteacher Tara Hollis with 6 percent.
Gov. Jindal’s campaign finance disclosures indicate that his campaign has $8.8 million on hand, and that he raised more than $347,000 during the last filing period. Hollis, the only Democrat whose campaign finance reports are available online, raised barely $3,500 and had less than $1,000 on hand.
Louisiana will hold a “jungle primary” election on Oct. 22 involving all qualifying candidates. If no candidate wins 50 percent of the vote, the top two finishers will participate in a Nov. 19 run-off But a 50-percent showing on Oct. 22 is sufficient to claim the governor’s mansion.
Louisiana, Kentucky and Mississippi are the only states holding regular gubernatorial elections this year. West Virginia will hold a special election to replace Joe Manchin, who was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010.
The four Democrats campaigning to replace Gov. Jindal are schoolteachers Tara Hollis and Ivo Roberts, victims advocate Androniki Papazoglakis and attorney Cary Deaton. Democrats had hoped that Marionneaux would also run, but he declined last Friday.