In the weeks leading up to the gubernatorial runoff there has been speculation that President Bush may make a trip to Louisiana to offer support for Republican candidate Bobby Jindal.
But as the campaign creeps to a close, it appears that a Bush appearance is unlikely.
“If the Jindal campaign really wanted [Bush] to come and made a real effort for him to come, then I think he would,” said Wayne Parent, the University’s political science chairman.
Three weeks ago Jindal stated in a Capitol Watch article that he did not issue an invitation to Bush but left the door open for a possible trip.
Jindal said Bush “would be welcome here” because he is “honored to have the support of the president,” in the Capitol Watch article.
Earlier this month Bush made trips to Mississippi and Kentucky to provide support for the Republican governor candidates in those states.
“President Bush came and spoke on the behalf of the Republican candidates for governor in Mississippi and Kentucky, the only two other races, so one would assume that he would consider coming here,” Parent said. “The question is more why didn’t he come rather than why would he come.”
Parent said because Blanco is struggling to get the African-American voters out, a Bush trip would probably have hurt Jindal.
“President Bush is not widely supported in the African-American community,” Parent said. “A Bush visit would likely help Blanco to gear up her black supporters and especially some of the traditional Democratic supporters. A Bush visit would get people out of their couches on a Saturday night to go vote for Blanco.”
The “no-show” by Bush to support Jindal marks the second time in two weeks that he has opted out of a possible trip to Louisiana.
Last week Bush declined an invitation from Gov. Mike Foster to participate in next month’s Louisiana Purchase bicentennial celebration in New Orleans.
Robert Hogan, assistant professor in political science, said the positive effects on a Bush visit for Jindal would have been financial.
“One of the big reasons that you get big-name people to come to states like the president is to raise money,” Hogan said. “So perhaps he could have helped Jindal and the Republican party in the state raise more money. But Jindal did not have tremendous amount of trouble raising money; he was able to hold his own in fundraising.”
Hogan said a presidential visit would not have made a substantial impact on the winner of this Saturday’s runoff.
Hogan believes that if Jindal loses the election, there will be no second guessing about Bush not visiting.
“Campaigns that lose or win always second guess and try to figure out what could have been done to do better,” Hogan said. “The visit will not be in the top 10 of things the Jindal campaign would have liked to reconsider.”
The latest Verne Kennedy poll, released Thursday, shows Jindal with a 46 to 42 percent lead on Kathleen Blanco.