Jindal’s campaign argues governor is gaining ground in Iowa.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: With the first Republican debate less than two weeks away, Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana is one of a slew of low polling presidential candidates jostling to qualify for the event that may be their best, and perhaps only, shot at being perceived as a viable contender for the party nomination.
Jindal, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, business magnate Carly Fiorina, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich are all separated by a mere 1.5 percentage points in RealClearPolitics’ national average of five polls at the end of last week.
While Christie looks to be in the best shape of the struggling candidates – sitting in ninth place with 2.8 percent support, Perry and Kasich are tied for tenth position with 1.8 percent support, followed by Fiorina and Santorum at 1.4 percent, while 14th placed Jindal languishes with only 1.2 percent support.
By contrast, Donald Trump, who has controversially lambasted his way to the top of the polling numbers, has 18.2 percent.
“It’s extremely important to be out there,” said Republican strategist Ron Bonjean of the initial debate. “If you’re not there, it’s out-of-sight-out-of-mind for voters, and just as importantly right now, for your fundraising efforts.”
Iowa, a key battleground state, may offer Jindal a lifeline. According to The Hill, some Republicans believe Jindal’s “firebrand conservatism” could catch on there if he can get proper exposure, and the governor’s presidential campaign does seem to be gaining ground there.
The latest internal survey puts the Louisiana governor in fourth place among 16 Republican aspirants.
The 44-year-old Jindal — who is the first Indian American to vie for the U.S. presidency — draws 8 percent support from likely GOP caucus-goers in Iowa, according to a survey recently conducted by his campaign.
“No other candidate has seen as much positive movement as Jindal. If he remains on this trajectory, the coming weeks are likely to show the governor making even greater strides as his message continues to draw acceptance from Iowa Republicans,” Wes Anderson, who conducted the poll for Jindal’s campaign, quipped to Politico.
He still trails Scott Walker, who has a commanding lead with 23 percent support in the poll, as well as Donald Trump and Jeb Bush, who polled at 13 and 9 percent, respectively.
Since July 1, Jindal’s support has jumped 5 percentage points in Iowa, the most of any candidate other than Walker, who is also up 5 points in the month; and 70 percent of those surveyed currently have a favorable opinion of Jindal, almost a 20 percent increase from the start of the month, according to the campaign’s polling.
Jindal still has a veritable mountain to climb if he’s to ascend to the Oval Office, especially considering his glaring alienation of much of the Indian American voting bloc, many of whom have taken to social media in droves to pointedly mock him.
“Although his campaign claims his support is surging in Iowa, the polls continue to suggest that Jindal has not caught on in the rest of the country,” The Advocate, a Baton Rouge-based newspaper, reported.
3 Comments
Its really great posting about Bobby Jindal.
The person, who doesn’t have the respect for his own motherland, can not be trustworthy for anyone.
Jindal is lucky to even make the cut to the bottom tier debate. He is one of America’s worst governors, with a Louisiana approval rating of 27%. Both Hillary and Obama are more popular than Jindal in Jindal’s home state! As if poor job performance weren’t enough, Jindal has to be one of the most dishonest, cold-hearted and vindictive politicians on the scene. The guy has got nothing going for him. His campaign is quite dead.