La. voters at the polls for primary

BATON ROUGE, La. - Republican Rep. Bobby Jindal's opponents in the state's gubernatorial race hoped Saturday that they could chip away at enough of his lead to push one of them into a runoff with the congressman.

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If Jindal gets more than 50 percent of the vote in Saturday's primary, the 36-year-old, Oxford-educated son of Indian immigrants will become Louisiana's first nonwhite governor since Reconstruction and the youngest U.S. governor in office.

Virtually no one questions that Jindal, who lost to Democrat Kathleen Blanco four years ago, will be atop the field of a dozen candidates when the votes are tallied. But Democrats Walter Boasso and Foster Campbell and independent John Georges hope they can keep Jindal's support under 50 percent, sending him into a Nov. 17 runoff election.

Political analysts said Jindal built up support as a sort of "buyer's remorse" from people who voted for Blanco last time and had second thoughts about that decision amid widespread public dissatisfaction with the Democratic governor after Hurricane Katrina.

"I think the Jindal camp, almost explicitly, (wanted) to cast it this way: If you were able to revote, who would you vote for?" said Pearson Cross, a University of Louisiana at Lafayette political scientist.

Jindal has held a strong lead in the polls since the field of candidates became settled nearly two months ago.

But the two multimillionaires in the race ― Boasso, a state senator from St. Bernard Parish, and Georges, a New Orleans-area businessman ― have poured millions of their own dollars into their campaigns to try to prevent Jindal's victory.

Campbell, a public service commissioner from Bossier Parish, has had a more limited amount of funds to tap but has run on a singular plan: scrapping the state income tax on businesses and individuals and levying a new tax on oil and gas processed in Louisiana.

The race has been one of the highest-spending in Louisiana history. Jindal alone raised $11 million, and Georges poured about $10 million of his personal wealth into his campaign war chest while Boasso plugged in nearly $5 million of his own cash.

A victory Saturday would be a rare trip to statewide office for a minority in the South ― in a state that 16 years ago famously saw a former Ku Klux Klan leader, David Duke, in a runoff for governor. Duke lost that race.

Political analysts say Jindal's chances of winning without a runoff hinge on black voters, who make up 29 percent of registered voters in Louisiana and have historically voted for Democrats. Polls indicate many black voters are still undecided.

Voter turnout was brisk, though were reports of some problems at polls in New Orleans, where many people have moved around since Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005.

State Elections Commissioner Angie LaPlace said she had expected many complaints because a check of voters' addresses found that a "ton" had moved, and those whose mail is forwarded must vote in the precinct where they now get mail.

Sandra Wilson, the Orleans Parish registrar of voters, said she had received many calls from voters who weren't allowed to vote in their accustomed place. "We are trying to explain the process," she said, but did not know exactly how many people were affected.

Addresses are verified statewide each year, but the Legislature postponed last year's review because so many people were displaced, LaPlace said.