The2011 Louisiana gubernatorial election was held on October 22 with 10 candidates competing in anonpartisan blanket primary.[1] IncumbentRepublicanBobby Jindal won a second term. Since he won an outright majority of the vote in the blanket primary, a runoff election that would have otherwise occurred on November 19 was unnecessary. This was the last time until2023 that a Republican was elected governor of Louisiana and that a Louisiana governor election was decided without a runoff.
Elections inLouisiana, with the exception ofU.S. presidential elections (andcongressional races in 2008 and 2010), follow a variation of theopen primary system called thejungle 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 the7th District congressional race in 1996, when DemocratsChris John and Hunter Lundy made the runoff for the open seat, and in 1999, when RepublicansSuzanne Haik Terrell andWoody Jenkins made the runoff for Commissioner of Elections.
On December 10, 2008, Jindal indicated that he would notrun 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 ontalk-radio programThink Tank withGarland Robinette, as a potential competitor for Jindal in his reelection campaign. The discussants cited Jindal's highapproval ratings and already in-the-bank $7 millioncampaign fund as unapproachable assets for Democrats other than Fayard, who at the time of the program was seeking the office oflieutenant governor in aspecial electionrunoff againstRepublicansecretary of stateJay Dardenne.[4]
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]
