Good news for Jindal and Louisiana and hopefully for New Orleans as well! Maybe he can do something about the corruption there so that rebuilding can take place.

Republican U.S. Representative Bobby Jindal was elected governor of Louisiana late yesterday and will become the first Indian-American to lead a U.S. state.

Jindal, a Rhodes Scholar who became Louisiana’s health secretary at age 24, won 54 percent of the votes in an open primary, according to the Louisiana Secretary of State’s Web site. A majority of votes were needed to negate the need for a Nov. 17 runoff election. Democrats Foster Campbell and Walter Boasso got 13 percent and 17 percent, respectively, while Independent John Georges won 14 percent.

The election was Jindal’s second campaign for governor. Four years ago, after winning a primary election with 33 percent of the vote, he lost to Democrat Kathleen Blanco by four percentage points in a run-off election. Blanco’s popularity declined after Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts lagged. She opted not to seek another term.

“The theme of this election for many voters was buyer’s remorse from 2003,” Louisiana State University political science professor Robert Goidel said last week. “Voters all over the state seemed to be saying we don’t want to make the same mistake this year.”