Political Horizons: No. 2 La. job could go to No. 1
by Mark Ballard - Advocate (excerpt)

(T)he experts say this may be the most-important vote ever for a Louisiana lieutenant governor. Given Gov. Bobby Jindal’s apparent national aspirations, the lieutenant governor chosen Saturday — or in the potential runoff Nov. 2 — could quickly step into the top job.

Jindal may have, as he says repeatedly, the job he’s always wanted. He is running for re-election in 2011. But he’s also kneeling at all the traditional stations of a campaign for national office. He’s traveling around the country helping other candidates. He’s publishing a book about a year before the Iowa caucuses, which mark the beginning of the 2012 presidential campaign.

Should higher office lure Jindal in 2012, after being re-elected in 2011, the lieutenant governor would serve out the rest of Jindal’s second term and be able to run as an incumbent in 2015. “That’s enormous,” Cross said. “Given the stealth nature of the election, what we’re really doing is electing the person who will be serving the majority of Jindal’s second term. But we’re doing it without a whole lot of scrutiny, a whole lot of thought, and with most of the state pretty much not involved.