While his attempts to become the first Asian American President of the United States did not come to fruition, Bobby Jindal, whose current term as governor of the state Louisiana coming to a close, as the state’s constitution allows only for two terms as governor, preventing Jindal from running for a third term, Jindal said he will return to working with the think tank he had started several years ago, America Next, where he says he “will be outlining the blueprint for making this the American century.”
“The people of Louisiana are a strong, resilient people, and it has been an absolute honor to serve this state the past eight years,” Jindal said in a statement. In terms of his party allegiance, he says the GOP has “to be the party of growth, and we can never stop being the party that believes in opportunity. We cannot settle for the Left’s view of envy and division.”
The elections to choose his successor dragged on for weeks. When no one held the majority of the vote in the primary election Oct. 24, a runoff election was held Nov. 21 with Democrat John Bel Edwards named Jindal’s his successor after garnering 56.1 percent of the vote, edging out Republican candidate David Vitter, who collected 43.9 percent of the vote. Edwards, with the win, becomes the first Democrat to hold the governor seat since 2008.
In a statement, Jindal congratulated Edwards, saying, “Louisiana is in a stronger position today than it ever has been, and I am very optimistic about the future of this great state. … Over the next few weeks, (Jindal’s wife) Supriya and I are committed to work very closely with the governor-elect, his family and his staff to ensure a seamless transition for the next administration.” However, in his statement congratulating Edwards, Jindal took the high road. “Now is the time for everyone to put politics and partisanship aside and make sure our new governor is ready on day one,” he said.
Bobby Jindal, 44, made a number of statements attempting to thrust himself into the forefront of the GOP candidates, including pleading with people to stop referring to individuals as “Indian American or Irish American” and just call everyone American. He also released a book in late November, “American Will,” a history book that Jindal called a “call to arms,” demonstrating how individual choices can steer the course of a country at one of America’s “most consequential crossroads.”
The book provided history lessons with a GOP slant, including a view on President Barack Obama’s stance on gun control, the Louisiana Purchase, Joseph Kennedy’s tenure as U.S. ambassador to Britain during the time of WWII, as well as nuggets of his personal history.
His viewpoints and the book, however, didn’t generate enough of a buzz. And after support for his candidacy faded, relegating him to the undercard Republican presidential debates, Jindal decided Nov. 17 it was time to bow out of the race. In a blog post on his campaign site, Jindal said, “This is not my time, so I am suspending my campaign for president.”
