The Meteoric Rise of Bobby Jindal
Philip Gould / Corbis
The Race
In 2003, Jindal decided to run for governor of Louisiana. Though he lost the race to then Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Blanco by 4 percentage points, he drew endorsements from the New Orleans Times-Picayune and the city's mayor Ray Nagin. Two years later, he successfully ran for the US Congress, representing Louisiana's First Congressional District.