2011 Louisiana gubernatorial election

The 2011 Louisiana gubernatorial election was held on October 22 with 10 candidates competing in a nonpartisan blanket primary.[1] Incumbent Republican Bobby Jindal was elected to a second term as governor of Louisiana. Since he received an outright majority of the vote in the blanket primary, a runoff election that would have occurred on November 19 was unnecessary. This is the last time until 2023 that a Republican was elected governor of Louisiana and that there was no runoff election for a Louisiana gubernatorial election.

2011 Louisiana gubernatorial election

October 22, 2011
Turnout32.8%
 
Nominee Bobby Jindal Tara Hollis
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 673,239 182,925
Percentage 65.8% 17.88%

Parish results
Jindal:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%

Governor before election

Bobby Jindal
Republican

Elected Governor

Bobby Jindal
Republican

Background

Elections in Louisiana, with the exception of U.S. presidential elections (and congressional races in 2008 and 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

On December 10, 2008, Jindal indicated that he would not run for president in 2012, saying he would focus on his reelection and that this would make transitioning to a national campaign difficult, though he later attempted to leave himself the opportunity to change his mind in the future.[2]

Minister Dan Northcutt (I) was the only declared challenger to Jindal, but he eventually dropped out of the race.[3] On October 22, Caroline Fayard's name surfaced on talk-radio program Think Tank with Garland Robinette, as a potential competitor for Jindal in his reelection campaign. The discussants cited Jindal's high approval ratings and already in-the-bank $7 million campaign fund as unapproachable assets for Democrats other than Fayard, who at the time of the program was seeking the office of lieutenant governor in a special election runoff against Republican secretary of state Jay Dardenne.[4]

Republicans

Announced

  • Cary Deaton, attorney[5]
  • Tara Hollis, special education teacher[5]
  • Androniki "Niki Bird" Papazoglakis, director for Baton Rouge-based victim advocacy group[5]
  • Ivo "Trey" Roberts, high school teacher[5]

Declined

Ineligible

  • Edwin Edwards, former four-term governor. Wanted to contest election following 10-year prison term for racketeering and illegally selling casino licenses, but was not pardoned [11]

Libertarian

  • Scott Lewis, former candidate for Louisiana secretary of state[5]

Independents

Dropped out

  • Dan Northcutt, minister[3]

General election

Predictions

Source Ranking As of
Rothenberg Political Report[12] Safe R November 4, 2011
Governing[13] Safe R November 4, 2011
Cook[14] Safe R November 4, 2011
Sabato[15] Safe R November 4, 2011

Results

Louisiana gubernatorial election results, 2011[16]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Bobby Jindal (incumbent) 673,239 65.8
Democratic Tara Hollis 182,925 17.88
Democratic Cary Deaton 50,071 4.89
Democratic Trey Roberts 33,280 3.25
Independent David Blanchard 26,705 2.61
Democratic Niki Bird Papazoglakis 21,885 2.14
Libertarian Scott Lewis 12,528 1.22
Independent Bob Lang 9,109 0.89
Independent Ron Ceasar 8,179 0.8
Independent Lenny Bollingham 5,242 0.51
Total votes 1,023,163 100
Turnout 35.9%[17]
Republican hold

See also

References

  1. "2011 ELECTIONS" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 27, 2008. Retrieved February 6, 2009.
  2. Smith, Ben (December 10, 2008). "Jindal says no". Politico. Retrieved December 28, 2010.
  3. Archived May 23, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  4. "Think Tank" with Garland Robinette. Archived 2010-10-28 at the Wayback Machine The statements about Fayard occurred at 11:00 AM CDT; the program originated from New Orleans WWL Radio 870 AM and its simulcast FM equivalent WWL Radio 105.3 FM. A more likely challenger for Jindal is State Representative John Bel Edwards. See also Louisiana state elections, 2010#Lieutenant Governor.
  5. Anderson, Ed (September 8, 2011). "State Treasurer John Kennedy wins new term; Gov. Jindal draws little-known foes". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved September 9, 2011.
  6. "News: Ater says no to governor's race". The Franklin Sun. January 27, 2011. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
  7. Moller, Jan (December 19, 2010). "Dems look for entrant to face Jindal". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved December 28, 2010.
  8. "Fayard Will Not Run For Louisiana Statewide Office Either". Bayou Buzz. September 8, 2011. Retrieved September 9, 2011.
  9. "Georges says not running for governor - New Orleans News, Breaking News, Sports & Weather - FOX 8 Live WVUE-TV Channel 8". Archived from the original on March 23, 2012. Retrieved September 8, 2011.
  10. "Democratic state senator declines to challenge Gov. Bobby Jindal in fall elections". The Times-Picayune. September 2, 2011. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  11. "Gubernatorial Ratings | Inside Elections". www.insideelections.com.
  12. "An Update on the 2011-2012 Gubernatorial Contests". Governing. July 25, 2011. Archived from the original on August 1, 2011.
  13. "2011/2012 GOVERNORS RACE RATINGS". The Cook Political Report. September 15, 2011. Archived from the original on October 7, 2011.
  14. "2012 Governor". Sabato's Crystal Ball.
  15. "Louisiana Secretary of State : Official Election Results : October 2011". Staticresults.sos.la.gov. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
  16. Archived October 27, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
Candidates
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