Jindal reelection victory shows he remains a vital GOP force

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He may have stumbled in his big nationwide rollout a few years ago, but Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, 40, bolstered his statewide wunderkind status Saturday, stomping to a landslide second-term victory over a slate of no-names.

Jindal racked up 66% of Saturday’s vote. His closest rival, Tara Hollis -- a schoolteacher from just south of the Arkansas border who billed herself as a ‘proud Democrat (conservative)’ -- received about 18% of the ballots cast.

Jindal’s widely anticipated victory is another nail in the coffin for the once-vigorous Louisiana Democratic Party, which once gave the state -- and the world -- roguish populist governors Huey P. Long Jr. and Edwin Edwards not to mention numerous like-minded foot soldiers in the Legislature.

Today, Jindal has a solid Republican majority in both legislative houses, and pundits have been asking ‘Who Killed the LA Democratic Party?’ (A leading theory: It was Barack Obama with the lead pipe in the conservatory.)

Jindal’s commanding victory should remind national observers that he remains a force to be reckoned with, despite his 2009 response to President Obama’s address to Congress, which served to introduce Jindal to a wider audience -- and which Democrats and Republicans agreed was a damaging flop.

In September, Jindal endorsed the presidential bid of Texas Gov. Rick Perry -- another popular Southern governor who has yet to prove he can spread the love nationwide.

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-- Richard Fausset

Times-Picayune / Associated Press