Nov. 15 will mark the beginning of a new era in Louisiana politics as Kathleen Blanco and Bobby Jindal vie to become the state’s first non-caucasian male governor.
According to Wayne Parent, political science chairman, not only will this race make history, but it also will be the most competitive runoff in 24 years.
“This is the first competitive runoff Louisiana has seen since 1979,” Parent said. “It is two weeks out, and we still do not know who is going to win.”
The latest polls show Jindal ahead of Blanco by a small margin with a large percentage of the voters still undecided.
Parent said the lead by Jindal is a big turnaround from the days shortly following the October election. Blanco jumped out to an early lead through the support of Democratic candidates Richard Ieyoub and Buddy Leach.
And though endorsements are important to candidates, Parent said their impact may not be as big to voters.
“Endorsements are not that important,” Parent said. “They are important at key moments like Foster’s endorsement at the beginning with Jindal. It made Jindal a creditable contender. But they are a lot less important to voters than they are to contributors and activists.”
Some students on campus disagreed with Parent on the importance of endorsements.
Michelle Madere, an accounting sophomore, said she looks heavily at who is supporting whom in a close election.
Madere said she would vote for a candidate she did not originally vote for based solely on an endorsement.
Jon Ladatto, a civil engineering sophomore, said Foster’s decision to endorse Jindal made up his mind.
Ladatto said his displeasure of Foster’s performance as governor of the state led to his decision to vote for Blanco.
“I really like Jindal,” Ladatto said. “I think he is the better candidate, but I am going to have to go against Foster.”
Parent said both candidates need to get voters excited through debates and advertisements during the final two weeks of the campaign.
“It is going to be aggressive,” Parent said. “Even though these two are fairly mild-mannered people, the stakes are very high and you are going to see a lot of punching.”
The runoff election will take place Saturday, Nov. 15
Absentee voting for the runoff election begins Nov. 3 and ends Nov. 8. Students can vote absentee either by mail or in person.
Absentee voting will be conducted in person from 12 to six days prior to the scheduled election at local registrar’s offices.
To receive a ballot to vote absentee by mail, students must send a letter to the local registrar’s office stating their name and the reason that they are not able to vote in person.