The Indian-American Governor-elect of Louisiana, Bobby Jindal, on Sunday said that lack of familiarity, as opposed to a discomfort over his roots, was a major reason why he did not get to the state house four years ago when he first ran for the high office.
"I think the reason we lost last time was more of a lack of familiarity. We came out of nowhere in the polls. We were polling at three per cent when we got in, surprised a lot of people by getting in the runoff. This time, we travelled to every of one of 64 parishes multiple times. We probably travelled and met with more voters than all my opponents combined," Jindal said on Fox News.
Jindal, the first-ever Indian American who has been elected with a comfortable margin to lead a southern state, was asked as to how he broke the barrier this time around when four years ago he lost in some parts of Louisiana because of the discomfort of some people voting for the son of an Indian immigrant.
"I think once voters got to know who I was beyond what they saw on TV and read in the newspapers -- they know I'm a fiscal conservative. They know that I'm pro-life, know that I've been endorsed by the NRA."
"Once they actually heard my ideas for changing our state, there was a strong enthusiasm. So I think it was more familiarity than anything. You know, in Louisiana, we still put a heavy emphasis on retail politics. The state that gave us Huey and Earl Long -- we're not going to just vote for somebody we meet on TV," he added.