Blanco, Jindal Prepare for Nov. 15 General Election in Louisiana

Phone calls have been flooding Jindal's campaign headquarters here, ever since the Republican won a third of the vote Saturday in Louisiana's governor's race. The leader in a field of 17 candidates, he is in a Nov. 15 runoff against Lt. Gov. Kathleen Blanco, who finished second with 18 percent.

Jindal's phone has been "ringing off the hook," spokesman and Minden native Trey Williams said Tuesday. Businessmen, legislators, citizens, Republicans as well as Democrats - many are finding, suddenly, that they are strong supporters of the youthful ex-bureaucrat. And media calls, from the national and international press, haven't let up.

"We've been just amazed at the number of telephone calls coming into the office," Williams said.

Not surprisingly, his boss hasn't felt the need to move very far. The campaign's modest base, a small cottage in the Spanish Town neighborhood near the Capitol, is a hive of activity, with stacks of yard signs piled up in the foyer, ready to go.

Meanwhile, Blanco, his Democratic opponent, has been hustling more. She toured the General Motors plant at Shreveport, meeting supporters at that city's Petroleum Club, and scouring for funds.

For both candidates, these are days of consolidation and planning, the last relatively calm moments in a gathering storm of activity before the runoff. The candidates are in private meetings, mostly. They are in days of working telephones and contacts, looking for endorsements, funds, and direction.

Unlike the men they defeated, neither Jindal nor Blanco have strong institutional or ethnic bases of support - labor, blacks, or trial lawyers for instance - wholly in their camp.

This is both a curse and blessing - curse because it makes the organizational task more pressing, but blessing because it reinforces their message that neither is beholden.

Jindal's camp is on a roll, the optimism evident in a Sunday press conference that was one of his few public appearances since Saturday's victory. Lurking in the eaves were faces that had been associated with defeated Republicans, like Hunt Downer. The only candidate with steady momentum throughout the summer, Jindal fielded questions Sunday with new ease.

In the Blanco camp, "we're regrouping," said Carla Dartez, a state legislator from Morgan City close to the lieutenant governor's campaign. "She's got six weeks, it gives her time to regroup, get her physical self together."

The Blanco quarters claim optimism as well. "We're getting a lot of phone calls from folks all over the state who want to help," spokesman Ed Pratt said. Meanwhile, there is hope of an endorsement from the man who finished a close third, Richard Ieyoub.

"There has been talk of a meeting with Ieyoub," Pratt said. For a candidate concerned about black support, such an endorsement would be a boon. "The priority is to get the vote out," Dartez said.

In Spanish Town the priority is similar, even if the outlook - at least insofar as black votes are concerned - is dimmer.

"Bobby is meeting and calling and reaching out to leaders across the state," Jindal spokesman Williams said. "We're trying to broaden our base of support."

Williams proclaimed Jindal's willingness to engage in debate with his opponent anytime; Dartez, for her part, dismissed speculation that there may be reluctance in the Blanco camp, the Democrat not being as quick on her feet as the fast-talking Republican.

"Nobody's going to outdebate him because he's so intelligent," Dartez said, "but he's a micromanager. You can't micromanage, you gotta delegate. He's got the facts, whether they're right or not," Dartez said. "One, two, three. But sometimes government is three, two, one."

there is hope of an endorsement from the man who finished a close third, Richard Ieyoub.

I cannot imagine any scenario by which Ieyoub would NOT endorse Blanco.

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People keep calling the Louisiana election set for Nov. 15 a "runoff." While it is in reality a "runoff," the official term for the election is "general election," under Louisiana's unique election code. Writers and headline people just can't get it straight.

"She's got six weeks, it gives her time to regroup, get her physical self together."

Say what?

Pull yourself together, Blanco. Cold weather's on the way.

Is that really what she's gonna come out with in the debates? 3-2-1 not 1-2-3?

Is that really what she's gonna come out with in the debates? 3-2-1 not 1-2-3?

Maybe she's just trying to reassure the public that Democrats can count.

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