Bobby Jindal
Piyush "Bobby" Jindal (b. June 10, 1971, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana) is a Republican politician and was the 55th Governor of Louisiana.[1] He was first elected governor in 2007 and was re-elected to the position on October 22, 2011. He was barred from running again due to term limits and left office on January 11, 2016.[2][3]
He previously served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Louisiana's 1st Congressional District from 2005 to 2008.[2]
Jindal announced on June 24, 2015, that he was running for president of the United States in 2016.[4] He suspended his campaign on November 17, 2015.[5]
Jindal was considered to be a possible vice presidential running mate for Mitt Romney (R) in 2012 but ultimately was not selected.[6][7]
An analysis of Republican governors by Nate Silver of the New York Times in April 2013 ranked Jindal as the 15th-most conservative governor in the country.[8]
Biography
Jindal was born in Baton Rouge to Punjabi Indian immigrants who were attending graduate school. Jindal adopted the name "Bobby Jindal" from the character Bobby Brady after watching The Brady Bunch television series at age four. He has been known by that name ever since—as a civil servant, politician, student, and writer—though legally his name remains Piyush Jindal.[2]
Jindal graduated from Baton Rouge High School in 1988. He went on to study biology and public policy at Brown University, and graduated with honors. Jindal then received a master's degree in political science from New College, Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar.[2]
After Oxford, he joined McKinsey & Company, a consulting firm, where he advised Fortune 500 companies. He also served as president of the University of Louisiana school system.[2]
Education
- B.S., biology and public policy, Brown University
- M.A., political science, New College (Oxford)[2]
Political career
Governor of Louisiana (2008-2016)
Jindal was first elected governor of Louisiana in 2007 and was re-elected in 2011. He stepped down at the end of his second term in 2016.[2][3]
Issues
Common core
In June 2014, Jindal notified the National Governors Association that he was removing Louisiana from the Common Core development group. He proposed the state institute a system of "Louisiana standards and a Louisiana test" to replace Common Core. Louisiana Superintendent of Education John White and State Board of Education President Chas Roemer dismissed the rejection of Common Core, citing the potential academic growth for participating students. Jindal criticized Common Core as a federal takeover of public education. Jindal was unable to completely remove Common Core from the state without the support of the Louisiana Legislature or state school board.[9]
Jindal attempted to block the state education department, which was run by White, from buying new tests. He said that buying the tests did not comply with state law, which requires Louisiana to go through a competitive bid process before entering into a contract.[9] Indiana, Oklahoma, and South Carolina previously scrapped Common Core from their education policies. Jindal attempted to make Louisiana the fourth state to do so out of the 46 that originally implemented the initiative.[9]
In August 2014, Jindal filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education in federal court, with the goal of ending pressure to implement Common Core. His filing accused federal education officials of violating the states' rights enshrined in the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Jindal's efforts followed a June executive order instructing state education administrators to use standards developed in-state.[10]
On August 19, 2014, Louisiana District Court Judge Todd Hernandez ruled that Jindal's executive order was invalid. Hernandez indicated that Jindal provided no evidence that White and other education officials were violating state contract regulations by purchasing Common Core tests. He also argued that the executive order harmed teacher and student preparations for annual tests.[11] Jindal's staff sent a letter to White and the state education board in December 2014 renewing efforts to block test purchases, citing limitations of existing contracts on education purchases.[12]
Medical marijuana
On January 22, 2014, at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Jindal announced he would be open to making medical marijuana legal in Louisiana, on the condition that it be tightly controlled.[13]
“I continue to be opposed to legalization of marijuana. When it comes to medical marijuana ... if there is a legitimate medical need, I’d certainly be open to making it available under very strict supervision for patients that would benefit from that,” Jindal said.[14]
Louisiana passed a law in 1991, House Bill 1187, allowing medical marijuana. The law stipulated that patients suffering from glaucoma, chemotherapy treatments, and spastic quadriplegia could receive marijuana for therapeutic uses under the rules and regulations that were to be set by the secretary of health and hospitals by January 1, 1992. Those rules never materialized, making it impossible for Louisiana patients to receive the drug.[15]
Tax reform
In early 2013, Jindal called for eliminating the state income tax and corporate tax and replacing them by increasing the sales tax by 56%. The plan would also have raised the cigarette tax and eliminated some tax loopholes. Food, medicine, and utilities would have been exempt and there would have been a rebate for low-income families. Jindal said the plan would make the state more attractive to businesses and allow it to compete better with neighboring states.[16][17]
On April 8, 2013, Jindal gave a speech before the legislature saying he was scrapping the plan but called on lawmakers to find other ways to end the income tax. He stated, “Now, to be clear, I still like my plan, but I recognize that success requires give and take. And I recognize that in this instance I need to be the one who gives so that we can have the chance to achieve success.”[18]
Castration
On June 25, 2008, Jindal signed the "Sex Offender Chemical Castration Bill," authorizing the chemical castration of those convicted of certain sex offenses.[19]
Job creation ranking
A June 2013 analysis by The Business Journals ranked 45 governors based on the annual private sector growth rate in all 50 states using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Jindal was ranked number five. The five governors omitted from the analysis all assumed office in 2013.[20][21]
U.S. House of Representatives (2005-2008)
Jindal was elected to represent Louisiana's 1st Congressional District in 2004, capturing 78% of the vote in the general election. He was elected freshman class president and was appointed to the House Committee on Homeland Security, the House Committee on Resources, and the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. He also served as vice-chairman of the House Subcommittee on the Prevention of Nuclear and Biological Attacks.[2]
Issues
- Jindal had a 100% pro-life voting record, according to the National Right to Life Committee.[22]
- Jindal voted yes on making the PATRIOT Act permanent, voted in favor of the 2006 Military Commissions Act, supported a constitutional amendment banning flag burning, and supported the Real ID Act of 2005.[23] Jindal had an A rating from Gun Owners of America.
- In 2006, Jindal sponsored the Deep Ocean Energy Resources Act (H.R. 4761), a bill to eliminate the moratorium on offshore oil and gas drilling over the U.S. outer continental shelf, which prompted the watchdog group Republicans for Environmental Protection to issue him an environmental harm demerit.[24]
- Jindal supported the teaching of intelligent design in public schools.[25]
Presidential preference
2016 presidential endorsement
✓ Jindal endorsed Marco Rubio for the Republican primary in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.[26]
- See also: Endorsements for Marco Rubio
| 2016 Presidential Endorsements by Former Presidential Candidates | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Candidate | Date | Source |
 Carly Fiorina |
Ted Cruz (primary) |
March 2016 | Politico |
| Ted Cruz |
Donald Trump |
September 2016 | CNN |
| Jim Gilmore |
Donald Trump |
September 2016 | Politico |
 Bernie Sanders |
 Hillary Clinton |
July 2016 | CNN |
| Martin O'Malley |
Hillary Clinton |
June 2016 | |
| Rick Santorum |
Donald Trump |
May 2016 | Reuters |
| Mike Huckabee |
Donald Trump |
May 2016 | |
| Rick Perry |
Donald Trump |
May 2016 | CNN |
| George Pataki |
John Kasich |
April 2016 | ABC News |
| Jeb Bush |
Ted Cruz |
March 2016 | Politico |
| Ben Carson |
Donald Trump |
March 2016 | Politico |
| Carly Fiorina |
Ted Cruz |
March 2016 | Politico |
| Bobby Jindal |
Marco Rubio |
February 2016 | Tampa Bay Times |
| Lindsey Graham |
Jeb Bush |
January 2016 | NBC News |
2012
Bobby Jindal endorsed Rick Perry in the 2012 presidential election.[27]
Elections
2016
Presidency
Jindal was a Republican candidate for the office of president of the United States in 2016. Jindal announced his bid for the presidency on June 24, 2015, through a press release on his website. "My name is Bobby Jindal, and I am running for President of the United States of America," the announcement read.[28]
On November 17, 2015, Jindal suspended his campaign.[29] He said in a statement, "Going forward, I believe we have 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. We have to be the party that says everyone in this country—no matter the circumstances of their birth or who their parents are—can succeed in America."[29]
Previously, during a lunch with conservative bloggers on September 16, 2014, Jindal said, "I’m not going to be coy, I’m thinking about running for president and praying about it."[30] Seventeen presidents have also served as governors.[31]
2011
- See also: Louisiana gubernatorial election, 2011
The Louisiana gubernatorial election of 2011 was decided in the primary on October 22, 2011. Jindal captured more than 50% of the vote in the blanket primary, winning re-election outright. The Louisiana general election was scheduled for Saturday, November 19, 2011, but the office of governor did not appear on the ballot.[32]
| Governor of Louisiana, 2011 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Bobby Jindal Incumbent |
65.8% | 673,239 | |
| Democratic | Tara Hollis | 17.9% | 182,925 | |
| Democratic | Cary Deaton | 4.9% | 50,071 | |
| Democratic | Trey Roberts | 3.3% | 33,280 | |
| Independent | David Blanchard | 2.6% | 26,705 | |
| Democratic | Niki Bird Papazoglakis | 2.1% | 21,885 | |
| Libertarian | Scott Lewis | 1.2% | 12,528 | |
| Independent | Robert Lang, Jr. | 0.9% | 9,109 | |
| Independent | Ron Caesar | 0.8% | 8,179 | |
| Independent | Leonard Bollingham | 0.5% | 5,242 | |
| Total Votes | 1,023,163 | |||
| Election results via Louisiana Secretary of State | ||||
2007
On October 20, 2007, Jindal was elected governor of Louisiana, winning a four-way race with 54% of the vote. At age 36, Jindal became the youngest governor in the United States. He also became the first person of color to serve as governor of Louisiana since Reconstruction, the first elected Indian American governor in U.S. history, and the second Asian-American governor to serve in the continental United States after Gary Locke of Washington.
2003
Jindal came to national prominence during the 2003 election for Louisiana governor. In the Louisiana open primary, Jindal finished first with 33% of the vote. He received endorsements from the largest paper in Louisiana, the New Orleans Times-Picayune, the newly-elected Democratic mayor of New Orleans, C. Ray Nagin, and the outgoing Republican governor, Mike Foster. In the second balloting, Jindal faced the outgoing lieutenant governor, Kathleen Babineaux Blanco of Lafayette, a Democrat. Despite winning in Blanco's hometown, he lost many conservative-leaning parishes in North Louisiana, and Blanco prevailed with 52% of the popular vote.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Noteworthy events
Recall efforts
- See also: Bobby Jindal recall, Louisiana (2012)
An effort to recall Jindal from his position as Governor of Louisiana was launched in March 2012. Louisiana public school teachers, Angie Bonvillain and Brenda Romero, began circulating recall petitions against Jindal in late March.[33]
The pair took issue with Jindal's education reforms as well as his proposed changes to the state's retirement system. Term limits prevented Jindal from seeking a third term in office, and Romero accused him of taking advantage of this position by pushing changes for which he would not be held accountable in a general election: "He waited until he was elected for a second term and then unleashed this entire change of the education system. Now he is going after the retirement system. This is all very fascist to me."[33]
The recall effort failed to collect enough signatures by the September 18 deadline, and the signatures that were collected were never turned in.[34]
Stance on Syrian refugee resettlement
- Main article: U.S. governors and their responses to Syrian refugees
Following the Paris terrorist attacks on November 13, 2015, in which members of the Islamic State (ISIS) killed at least 129 people and wounded more than 350, reports surfaced showing that one of the terrorists responsible for the attacks in Paris may have come to France posing as a Syrian refugee.[35] Many governors issued statements of support or opposition to President Obama’s (D) plan to allow 10,000 new Syrian refugees into the United States. Jindal had strong opposition to the resettlement of Syrian refugees in the state of Louisiana. He said:
| “ | It is irresponsible and severely disconcerting to place individuals, who may have ties to ISIS, in a state without the state's knowledge or involvement. ... It would be prudent to pause the process of refugees coming to the United States. Authorities need to investigate what happened in Europe before this problem comes to the United States.[36] | ” |
| —Gov. Bobby Jindal[37] | ||
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
As of June 3, 2021, Jindal and his wife, Supriya Jolly, had three children.[2]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Bobby Jindal Louisiana. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Louisiana | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
|---|---|---|
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External links
- Governor
- Social media:
- Biographies:
- Executive actions:
- Fact-checking:
- Interest group ratings:
- Issue positions:
- Public statements:
- Works by or about:
- Media appearances:
- Complete text, audio, video of Bobby Jindal's gubernatorial election victory address at American Rhetoric
- Congress
- Biographies:
- Political profiles:
- Financial (federal level):
- Voting record:
Footnotes
- ↑ New York Times, “In a Southern U.S. state, immigrants' son takes over,” October 22, 2007, archived January 18, 2012
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 History, Art & Archives United States House of Representatives, "Jindal, Bobby," accessed May 26, 2021
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Hill, "Jindal won't rule out another run for office," January 10, 2016
- ↑ NBC News, "Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal: I'm running for president," June 24, 2015
- ↑ Politico, "Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal drops out of White House race," November 17, 2015
- ↑ Boston.com, "Mitt Romney chooses Paul Ryan as running mate," August 12, 2012
- ↑ USA Today, "Romney's VP pick likely to go to safest candidate," July 14, 2012
- ↑ New York Times, "In State Governments, Signs of a Healthier G.O.P.," April 16, 2013
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Nola, "Gov. Bobby Jindal's attempt to scuttle Common Core leaves Louisiana education system in confusion," accessed June 18, 2014
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Why Bobby Jindal needed to sue the Obama administration," August 27, 2014
- ↑ The Times-Picayune, "Judge rules against Gov. Bobby Jindal in Common Core lawsuit," August 19, 2014
- ↑ The Times-Picayune, "Bobby Jindal, John White dispute over Common Core test continues," December 5, 2014
- ↑ The Times-Picayunenn, "Bobby Jindal: I would consider legal medical marijuana," January 22, 2014
- ↑ The Washington Times, "Jindal: Medical marijuana OK if tightly controlled," January 23, 2014
- ↑ The Advocate, "Gov. Jindal: I’m open to medical marijuana for La.," January 28, 2014
- ↑ Wall Street Journal, "The State Tax Reformers," January 29, 2013
- ↑ Reuters, "Louisiana Governor Jindal's popularity slumps after bold tax plan," April 7, 2013
- ↑ Politico, "Bobby Jindal scraps income tax plan," April 8, 2013
- ↑ Office of the Governor, "Governor signs chemical castration bill, authorizing the castration of sex offenders in Louisiana," accessed June 25, 2008
- ↑ The Business Journals, "Governors and jobs: How governors rank for job creation in their states," June 27, 2013
- ↑ The Business Journals, "How state governors rank on their job-growth record," June 27, 2013
- ↑ On The Issues, "Bobby Jindal on Abortion," accessed August 12, 2008
- ↑ OpenCongress, "Voting History: Rep. Bobby Jindal," accessed August 12, 2008
- ↑ Republicans for Environmental Protection, "2006 Scorecard," accessed August 12, 2008
- ↑ Time, "The Second Coming of Bobby Jindal," accessed August 12, 2008
- ↑ Tampa Bay Times, "Bobby Jindal endorses Marco Rubio," February 5, 2016
- ↑ CNN, "Jindal to endorse Perry," September 12, 2011
- ↑ Bobby Jindal, "Announcement," June 24, 2015
- ↑ 29.0 29.1 Politico, "Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal drops out of White House race," November 17, 2015
- ↑ National Review, "Jindal on 2016: ‘I’m Not Going to Be Coy, I’m Thinking About Running’," September 16, 2014
- ↑ Center on the American Governor, "The Governors Who Became President: Brief Biographies," accessed October 30, 2013
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "Results for Election Date: 11/19/2011," accessed June 2, 2021
- ↑ 33.0 33.1 Huffington Post, "Bobby Jindal recall: Teachers seek to oust Louisiana governor," April 13, 2012
- ↑ The Times-Picayune, "Public school teachers fall short in efforts to recall Jindal, Kleckley," September 20, 2012
- ↑ Washington Post, "Were Syrian refugees involved in the Paris attacks? What we know and don’t know," November 17, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ CNN, "More than half the nation's governors say Syrian refugees not welcome," November 19, 2015
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