Who is Bobby Jindal?
Bobby Jindal illustration

Illustration: Mark Marturello/The Des Moines Register

PARTY: Republican

BORN: June 10, 1971 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Bobby Jindal

What he’s got: Extensive public-service résumé that includes executive, legislative, administrative, and policy-making experience (as governor of and congressman from Louisiana, secretary of the state’s health-care and hospital system, and assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services); expertise beyond health care and across the spectrum of domestic policy; gold-plated academic credentials from Brown and Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar, reflecting arguably the biggest brain among the GOP 2016ers; deeply held Christian faith and unwavering adherence to social-conservative principles; folksy, plainspoken, cut-to-the-chase demeanor; when he hits it, a great stump speech; a winning family immigrant story.

What he lacks: National name recognition; national-security credentials; demonstrated national fundraising capacity; national or early-state polling strength; strong, or even passable, approval ratings in Louisiana (in recent surveys, they’ve ranged from 27 to 32 percent); an unambiguous record of accomplishment in his state; ability to temper tendencies towards incendiary rhetoric and tendentious claims; consistent willingness to allow his appealing wonkiness to show through; consistent sunny demeanor, inspirational tone, or uplifting substance on the hustings; a clear and plausible path to the nomination.

Read Mark Halperin and John Heilemann's Scouting Report

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Photo Gallery

Jindal greets President Obama, who visited Louisiana in the wake of the BP oil spill, on May 2, 2010. Photograph by: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images

Jindal gives a concession speech after his unsuccessful 2003 Louisiana gubernatorial campaign. His wife Supriya and daughter Selia stand to his right at the event in New Orleans on November 15, 2003. Photograph by: Mario Villafuerte/Getty Images

Jindal speaks at the National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare in December 1998. Photograph by: Douglas Graham/Congressional Quarterly/Getty Images

Jindal speaks with workers tasked with containing BP’s oil spill in Chauvin, Louisiana, on May 11, 2010. Photograph by: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Jindal and Rick Perry leave a Perry 2010 presidential campaign event in Muscatine, Iowa. Photograph by: Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images

Jindal speaks with South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley during a meeting of the National Governors Association at the White House in Washington, DC, February 23, 2015. Photograph by: JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images

Jindal announces his candidacy for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, in Kenner, Louisiana, on June 24, 2015. Photograph by: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Top Priorities

Bobby’s Resumé

  • 1987-1991
    Attended Brown University.
  • 1994
    Earned a Master's degree in literature from Oxford University.
  • 1994-1995
    Associate at McKinsey and Company.
  • 1996-1998
    Secretary of the Louisiana State Health and Hospitals Department.
  • 1998
    Executive director of the National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare.
  • 1999-2001
    President of the University of Louisiana system.
  • 2001-2003
    Fact check.
  • 2004-2007
    U.S. Congressman from Louisiana.
  • 2007-Present
    Governor of Louisiana.

Highs

  • 2014: Signed the Workforce Investment for a Stronger Economy (WISE) bill, which allows Louisiana's universities to compete for more funding; unveiled an alternative to Obamacare.
  • 2007: Became the first Indian-American governor in the U.S.
  • 2004: Became the first Indian-American in Congress since Dalip Singh Saund in 1956.
  • 1994: Awarded the presitious Rhodes Scholarship.

Watch This

Mark Halperin: Bobby Jindal Is One of Smartest People I’ve Ever Met

John Heilemann and Mark Halperin show Bobby Jindal some love.

Lows

  • 2015: Criticized for a speech addressing supposed "no-go zones," or European neighborhoods that he sees as being controlled by radical Islam and other non-assimilationist groups.
  • 2009: His response to the State of the Union Address was well recieved by either party.

He Once Said...

“As someone who studied public policy in college, and worked in health policy all my adult life, I know Obamacare is a bad policy.”

“Part of getting past these divisions is to stop saying African-American, Indian-American, Asian-American. We’re all Americans. The only colors that should matter are red, white, and blue.”

- On assimilation

“For too many children if you’re born in a wealthy zip code, chances are you’re likely to go to a good school. If you come from a poor zip code, chances are you’re more likely to be trapped in a failing school.”

- On his rationale for school choice in New Orleans

Did you know...

Bobby’s birthname is Piyush, he re-named himself after his favorite character on “The Brady Bunch” when he was young.

Family

  • Wife

    Supriya Jolly Jindal

    Runs the Supriya Jindal Foundation for Louisiana’s Children, which provides technology to schools.

  • Children

    Selia Jindal, Daughter

    Shaan Jindal, Son

    Slade Jindal, Son

  • Parents

    Raj Jindal, Mother

    Amar Jindal, Father

When he’s not running for office, Bobby is...

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