The 2007 Louisiana gubernatorial election was held on October 20. The filing deadline for candidates was September 6. On the day of the election, all 12 candidates competed in an open jungle primary. Bobby Jindal won the election with 54%. This was the first time since 1967 in which the winner of a Louisiana gubernatorial election was of the same party as the incumbent president.
Background
Elections in Louisiana, with the exception of U.S. presidential elections (and congressional races from 2008 until 2010), follow a variation of the open primary system called the jungle primary. Candidates of any and all parties are listed on one ballot; voters need not limit themselves to the candidates of one party. Unless one candidate takes more than 50% 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. This scenario occurred in the 7th District congressional race in 1996, when Democrats Chris John and Hunter Lundy made the runoff for the open seat, and in 1999, when Republicans Suzanne Haik Terrell and Woody Jenkins made the runoff for Commissioner of Elections.
Candidates
Democratic
Walter Boasso – Elected to the State Senate in 2003, representing St. Bernard Parish and Plaquemines Parish. He is also president and CEO of Boasso America Corp., a network of shipping container facilities, and has served on the Port of New Orleans Board of Commissioners. He has received a reputation as a conservative, pro-business legislator. After Hurricane Katrina, Boasso achieved prominence as one for the state's leading advocates for consolidation and reform of the state's Levee Boards. He switched to the Democratic Party on April 26, 2007. Foster Campbell – Louisiana Public Service Commissioner for District 5, 2002 – Present; St. Senator, 1976-2002. Campbell is a cattle farmer and owner of an insurance agency from Bossier Parish. As a state senator and as a Public Service Commissioner, Campbell pushed to regulate and lower 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. Vinny Mendoza – Kenner resident. Veteran of the Korean War and has run for many state offices. Hardy Parkerson – Lake Charles attorney. He ran as a self-described "Ronald Reagan Conservative Democratic, Family Forum, Christian-Coalition, States' Rights, anti-abortion candidate." Mary Volentine Smith – Retired Hairdresser from Winnsboro.
Republicans
Bobby Jindal – A U.S. Congressman representing Louisiana's First Congressional District. Jindal previously served as Louisiana's Secretary of Health and Hospitals from 1996 to 1998 and President of the University of Louisiana System from 1999 to 2001, and was appointed by President George W. Bush as Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services for Planning and Evaluation from 2001 to 2003. Jindal ran against Kathleen Blanco for governor in 2003, and was narrowly defeated, having received 48% of the vote.
Libertarian
T. Lee Horne, III – real estate salesman from Franklin
Independent
Belinda Alexandrenko – Lafayette resident who previously ran for governor in 1995 & 1999. In 1999, she received 0.69% of the vote and did not run in 2003. Sheldon Forest – Maurice resident. Anthony "Tony G" Gentile – oil refinery supervisor from Mandeville John Georges – Georges is a wealthy New Orleans businessman with investments in gaming and grocery businesses; owner of the Baton Rouge Morning Advocate. Jim Nichols – Donaldsonville resident who previously ran for governor in 1995.
Campaign
Blanco's faltering popularity
Originally planning to run for re-election, the incumbent governor, Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, entered the election year with a significant erosion in her level of popular support, due in large part to perceptions of inadequate performance in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In November 2006, Blanco had an approval rating of 39%, and she had encountered further political setbacks since November.
In December 2006, Blanco called a special session of the Louisiana State Legislature which she intended to use to dispense $2.1 billion worth of tax cuts, teacher raises, road projects and other spending programs. Legislators allied with Blanco attempted to lift a spending cap imposed by the state constitution, but Republican lawmakers defeated Blanco's spending measures. The high-profile defeat further eroded Blanco's political reputation.
