INDIAN GOVERNER FOR LOUISIANA

OCT 5: Bobby Jindal, an Indian-American running as a conservative Republican finished first in an open primary for Louisiana governor Saturday. The Democratic lieutenant governor Kathleen Blanco finished second with 18 percent vote, thus both will now advance to a runoff on November 15.

With 97 percent of the vote counted, Bobby Jindal had 33 percent with 433,570 votes, followed by Blanco's 242,969 with all but 105 precincts reporting.

Jindal and Blanco will face off in the runoff Nov. 15, and the winner will become the next governor. Incumbent Gov. Mike Foster has served two terms and is barred from running again.

The results of the primary signaled a change in this conservative Deep South state, where white males have dominated politics and have been elected governor for generations.

Underscoring the change, Blanco told cheering supporters in the Cajun town of Lafayette: ``This is a new day for Louisiana. You have a Cajun woman against an Asian-American, and I'm telling you, it speaks to the whole nation.''

Blanco, 60, is a veteran of Louisiana politics, serving two terms as lieutenant governor after previously serving on the public service commission.

Jindal, 32, the son of Indian immigrants, is a protege of current Gov. Mike Foster and a former assistant secretary in President Bush's Department of Health and Human Services. His youth and ethnicity were expected to work against him in a state where former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke once scored a majority of white male votes in a statewide run. But Jindal's impressive resume -- Rhodes Scholar, high-level state and federal jobs -- became a neutralizing factor.

"Tonight voters in Louisiana decided they did not want to go down [the] same road we have gone down in [the] past," Jindal said through a spokesman. "Voters said they didn't want a career politician but a problem solver."

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Jindal appealed to Louisiana's conservatives in radio ads extolling the Ten Commandments and deriding liberals and gun control, while promising fiscal sobriety and few initiatives. Frequent mention of this Catholic convert's faith helped shore up support.Jindal is a convert to Catholicism from Hinduism.

In addition, Jindal has the strong backing of Foster, who made Jindal secretary of the state Department of Health and Hospitals at the age of 24, then appointed him head of Louisiana's university system.

Jindal's ascent was the surprise of the campaign. On key issues -- economic development, education, health care -- most candidates promised little change in this slow-growth state where elections often turn on personalities.

Few gave Jindal much chance when he returned to Louisiana from his job in the Bush administration, despite an impressive resume that includes Rhodes Scholar and high-level state and federal jobs.

In addition, Jindal has the strong backing of Foster, who has served two terms and is barred from running again.

Like three of the four leading Democrats, Jindal has promised to put more energy into attracting industry. In addition, Jindal -- along with Ieyoub, Blanco, and Ewing -- promised to decrease taxes to make Louisiana more friendly to business.

Louisiana is one of three states with a regular governor's election this year, along with Mississippi and Kentucky.