Jindal wins re-election; tobacco tax passes

With about 66 percent of the vote, Gov. Bobby Jindal celebrated his successful re-election Saturday night at a gala in the grand ballroom of the Renaissance Hotel.
Hundreds attended the event to hear Jindal announce the election results, and when he did, Jindal said he was "humbled and honored" to accept the charge of governor once more.
Jindal carried all 64 parishes in the state, and his 66 percent of the vote is the largest percentage ever won by a candidate in a Louisiana open primary, according to a news release from his campaign committee.
"As long as I'm your governor, I will never coast," Jindal promised. "I will give you my all."
Tara Hollis, D-Haynesville, placed second in the polls Saturday, garnering about 18 percent of the vote. No other candidate rose above 5 percent.
University graduate student Androniki "Niki Bird" Papazoglakis earned 2 percent of the vote.
Jindal began his acceptance speech by thanking LSU football head coach Les Miles for attending.
"Every time I've run for governor, the LSU tigers win a national championship," he joked.
He also provided projections for Louisiana's coming years under his administration.
"Louisiana has made great strides over the past four years," Jindal said. "It wasn't something I did, it was something we did as a state."
But he assured his supporters in attendance that Louisiana is growing and on the move.
"We are relentlessly focused on the future," he said. "And that is the spirit of America, that is the spirit of Louisiana."
Jindal reserved plenty of time to thank his staff and supporters, including the numerous University students in attendance who had worked for his re-election campaign.
"We've got the opportunity to do great things," Jindal said. "We will run out of time before we run out of things to do for the great state of Louisiana."
He closed by referring to LSU football once more as he promised that he and his team would continue to give their all.
"Coach Miles would expect nothing less from us and the people of Louisiana would expect nothing less from us," Jindal said. "We're going to bring the same intensity they brought to Auburn tonight, the same intensity they're going to bring to Alabama in two weeks."
Jindal closed by saying that, like the LSU football team, "you ain't seen nothing yet" when it comes to the people of Louisiana.
Also on the ballot Saturday were lieutenant governor candidates Jay Dardenne, R-Baton Rouge, and Billy Nungesser, R-Port Sulphur. The incumbent, Dardenne, won with 53 percent of the vote.
Three of the five proposed legislative amendments on the ballot Saturday passed, including the appropriation of tobacco settlement funds, which can reach up to $45 million per year, into TOPS funding. This amendment also permanently added a tax of four cents on tobacco products into the state Constitution.
The Louisiana Secretary of State Web site lists a currently unofficial voter turnout of about 36 percent.