The Louisiana gubernatorial election of 2003 resulted in the election of Kathleen Babineaux Blanco as governor of Louisiana. Categories: Stub | 1942 births | Governors of Louisiana ... List of Governors of Louisiana First French Era Sieur Sauvole de la Villantry 1699-1701 Jean Baptiste de la Moyne, Sieur de Bienville 1701-1713 Antonine de la Mothe Cadillac 1713-1716 Jean Baptiste de la Moyne 1716-1717 De lEpinay 1717-1718 Jean Baptiste de la Moyne 1718...

Background

Elections in Louisiana—with the exception of U.S. presidential elections—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 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.[2] In this election, the first round of voting was held on October 4, 2003, and the runoff was held on November 15, 2003. An Open Primary is a type of direct primary open to voters regardless of their party affiliation. ... In the jungle primary, all candidates run in the same initial election regardless of party label. ... is the 277th day of the year (278th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 319th day of the year (320th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Candidates

Democrats

• Kathleen Babineaux Blanco of Lafayette had led the high-profile growth of the state's tourism industry in her two terms as Lieutenant Governor. Blanco ran as a conservative pro-life Democrat, hoping to appeal to enough Republican voters to enter the runoff over her Democratic rivals.
• Attorney General Richard Ieyoub of Lake Charles had endorsements from labor and from the Louisiana Sheriffs Association, and had the most campaign contributions of any candidate. His campaign strategy was to try to secure the votes of the Democrats' traditional base: labor, African-Americans, and teachers and professional groups.
• Anthony Claude "Buddy" Leach, Jr., of Leesville and Lake Charles spent a large amount of his own money on the campaign. Leach ran a liberal populist campaign which included promises of minimum wage increases and of teacher raises and social programs funded by a new oil-processing tax.
• Former state Senate President Randy Ewing of Quitman ran on a reform platform. Ewing was endorsed by New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin in the primary, and had a significant base in north Louisiana.

Republicans Categories: Stub | 1942 births | Governors of Louisiana ... : Hub City : The Heart of Cajun Country United States Louisiana Lafayette 47. ... Richard Phillip Ieyoub, Sr. ... Lake Charles is a city located in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, USA. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 71,757. ... Anthony Claude Buddy Leach, Jr. ... The small city of Leesville is the parish seat of Vernon Parish, in the US state of Louisiana. ... This article is about the City of Lake Charles, La. ... Randy Lew Ewing (born February 10, 1944) is a Jackson Parish businessman who, as a Democrat, represented District 35 (Jackson, Lincoln, Union, and part of Ouachita parishes) in the Louisiana State Senate from 1988-2000. ... Quitman is a village located in Jackson Parish, Louisiana. ... The post of Mayor of the city of New Orleans, Louisiana has been held by the following individuals: Etienne de Boré 1803-04 James Pitot 1804-05 John Watkins 1805-07 James Mather 1807-12 Charles Trudeau 1812 Nicholas Girod 1812 LeBreton Dorgenois 1812 Nicholas Girod 1812-15 Augustin Macarty... Clarence Ray Nagin, Jr. ...

• Bobby Jindal of Baton Rouge, the state Secretary of Health and Hospitals. He received early support from departing Governor Murphy J. "Mike" Foster, Jr. His policy experience and educational background made him a natural fit among suburban and business-oriented Republicans, and he made a strong effort to reach out to rural conservatives.
• former state House Speaker Huntington B. Downer, Jr., of Houma, a brigadier general in the National Guard. Downer had the support of several prominent Republican politicians, but his campaign never caught on with large sections of the public.
• Public Service Commissioner Jack A. "Jay" Blossman, Jr., ran a series of provocative campaign ads designed to appeal to social conservatives, but he failed to gain much support in preliminary polls. He dropped out of the race a week before the primary and endorsed Hunt Downer.

Bobby Jindal (born Piyush Jindal June 10, 1971, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana) is a Louisiana politician. ... Capitol Building Baton Rouge is the capital of Louisiana, a state of the United States of America. ... Former Gov. ... Huntington Blair Hunt Downer, Jr. ... The city of Houma (pronounced ) is the parish seat of Terrebonne Parish, in the U.S. state of Louisiana. ... Jay Blossman Jack A. Jay Blossman, Jr. ...

Campaign

Departing Governor Foster was disqualified from succeeding himself for a third term by Louisiana's constitution, so the 2003 race was perceived as wide open and saw a large number of candidates enter the campaign. The primary phase of the campaign was characterized by the large number of strong Democratic contenders. Ieyoub was seen as one of the strongest Democratic candidates throughout the campaign, and only narrowly lost a slot in the runoff to Blanco, who had a strong base of support in the Acadian parishes and among women voters. The efforts of Leach to appeal to the same base as Ieyoub led them to split the Democratic vote and to come in third and fourth.

The leading Republican candidate, by contrast, was chosen fairly early on. Jindal took a commanding lead among Republican supporters early in the campaign, leaving Hunt Downer far behind.

In the runoff, Jindal received endorsements from the New Orleans Times-Picayune (the largest paper in Louisiana), Mayor Nagin (who had supported Ewing in the primary but declined to endorse Blanco in the runoff), and outgoing Republican Governor Mike Foster. Some political analysts believe that his narrow loss was partly due to racism. Other political analysts have blamed Jindal for his refusal to answer questions about his record brought up in several ads, which the Jindal campaign called "negative attack ads". Still others note that a significant number of conservative Louisianans remain more comfortable voting for a conservative Democrat than for a Republican. The runoff between Bobby Jindal and Kathleen Blanco brought two 'firsts' for Louisiana political history. If elected, Jindal would have been the United States' first Indian-American governor. The victorious Blanco became Louisiana's first woman governor. She was also the second woman to have been lieutenant governor. The New Orleans Times-Picayune is the major daily newspaper serving New Orleans, Louisiana. ...

Results

First voting round, October 4

Runoff, November 15 This article is about the modern United States Republican Party. ... The Democratic Party is one of the two major United States political parties. ... The Democratic Party is one of the two major United States political parties. ... The Democratic Party is one of the two major United States political parties. ... The Democratic Party is one of the two major United States political parties. ... This article is about the modern United States Republican Party. ... This article is about the modern United States Republican Party. ... The Democratic Party is one of the two major United States political parties. ... The Democratic Party is one of the two major United States political parties. ... The Democratic Party is one of the two major United States political parties. ... The Democratic Party is one of the two major United States political parties. ... The Democratic Party is one of the two major United States political parties. ... Voters lining up outside a Baghdad polling station during the 2005 Iraqi election. ...

The Democratic Party is one of the two major United States political parties. ... This article is about the modern United States Republican Party. ... Voters lining up outside a Baghdad polling station during the 2005 Iraqi election. ... The Democratic Party is one of the two major United States political parties. ... This article is about the modern United States Republican Party. ... Swing in a British political context is a single figure used as an indication of the scale of voter change in a single constituency. ... The Louisiana gubernatorial election of 1999 resulted in the re-election of Mike Foster to his second term as governor of Louisiana. ... Elections in Louisiana traditionally use a jungle primary, where all the candidates for an office run together in one election. ... The Louisiana gubernatorial election of 2007 will be held in two rounds. ...

Sources

Secretary of State Elections Division. Official Election Results Database

Parent, Wayne. Inside the Carnival: Unmasking Louisiana Politics. LSU Press, 2004.

The New Orleans Times-Picayune. "Jindal takes easy lead heading into runoff." October 5, 2003.