Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal
Jindal, a Republican, to decide on White House bid after legislative session ends in June
♦By Rich Shumate, Chickenfriedpolitics.com editor
BATON ROUGE (CFP) — Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has announced the formation of an exploratory committee, a key step toward seeking the GOP presidential nomination in 2016.
“If I run, my candidacy will be based on the idea that the American people are ready to try a dramatically different direction. Not a course correction, but a dramatically different path,” Jindal said in a May 18 statement announcing formation of the committee. The committee also launched a website to solicit donations.
Jindal said he will hold off on a formal announcement of a White House run until after the Louisiana legislature adjourns in June.
Jindal, 43, is in his second term as governor of the Pelican State. Prior to being elected in 2007, he won two terms in the U.S. House after a stint in the administration of President George W. Bush. In recent months, he has been making a series of campaign-style appearances in early primary states.
If elected in 2016, Jindal would be the first Indian American to win the presidency. His parents emigrated to the United States shortly before he was born in 1971.
If Jindal enters the race, he will face a crowded field that already includes four fellow Southerners: Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and U.S. Senators Ted Cruz of Texas, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Marco Rubio of Florida. Three other Southerners are expected to seek the GOP nomination: Former governors Jeb Bush of Florida and Rick Perry of Texas and U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.
On the Democratic side, former U.S. Senator Jim Webb of Virginia has already launched an exploratory committee for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination — a race that’s expected to be dominated by former Secretary of State Clinton, a former first lady of Arkansas who went on to be elected to the Senate from New York.
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