Rep. Bobby Jindal (R-LA) was elected governor yesterday, taking about 54% of the vote and avoiding a runoff. Jindal previously ran for governor in 2003, but lost to Democrat Kathleen Blanco by a 52%-48% margin. Blanco was not running again this time.

Jindal is the first Indian-American elected governor of a U.S. state, and at age 36 will become the youngest current governor when he is sworn in.

Voters are going to the polls today in Louisiana's jungle primary for state offices, with all candidates on the same ballot regardless of party.

The big question in the gubernatorial race is whether Congressman Bobby Jindal (R), the 2003 nominee, will be able to break the 50% mark and avoid a runoff. Polls have shown Jindal approaching, but not exceeding, that threshold.

The top opponents have been state senator Walter Boasso, running as a Democrat, and businessman John George, running as an independent — both of whom are ex-Republicans.

Polls close tonight at 9 p.m. ET.

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, who had kept speculation going that he would run for governor of Louisiana, did not file as a candidate by yesterday's deadline. However, Nagin did say that he intends to keep active and will try to affect the terms of the debate in the election. "I will expect any candidate who wants to be taken seriously to commit to the full recovery of New Orleans, this region and ultimately this state," he said.

The current frontrunner is Republican Congressman and 2003 gubernatorial candidate Bobby Jindal, who has enjoyed poll numbers over the 50% mark needed to avoid a runoff under the state's multi-candidate "jungle primary" system.

Last week we reported on a new ad that the Louisiana Democratic Party is running against GOP Congressman Bobby Jindal, who is running for governor this Fall. The ad quotes Jindal's writing in a right-wing Catholic journal in the mid-90's, soon after his conversion to Catholicism from Hinduism, alleging that he made disparaging remarks against Protestants.

Now Jindal is hitting back at the ad — by threatening legal action against stations that air it.

Jindal's lawyers have sent a letter to TV stations throughout Louisiana, calling the ad defamatory and saying it takes Jindal's writings out of context in order to slander him. It says:

Accordingly, we hereby request that your station stop airing this advertisement immediately. If you are unwilling to do so, we request an explanation of the basis of that decision in law or station policy.

With this letter, our client reserves all rights, remedies and recourse to which they are surely entitled in connection with the broadcast of the advertisement referenced herein, and no action or inaction by our client shall be deemed to constitute a waiver, relinquishment or other impairment of such rights, remedies or recourse.

The full text of the letter is here. For the Jindal camp's point-by-point refutation of the ad's allegations, click here. You can watch video of the ad after the jump.

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Woah, this is one hard-hitting spot. The Louisiana Democratic Party has just launched a new attack ad and Web site attacking Republican Congressman Bobby Jindal, and the ad has to be seen to be appreciated in all its vicious glory.

The ad — which is intended to damage Jindal among the white Protestants who comprise the Louisiana GOP base in advance of this fall's gubernatorial race — slams Jindal as anti-Protestant over several articles Jindal wrote for a right-wing Catholic journal in the mid-1990's, a few years after he converted from Hinduism to Catholicism. Take a look:

In the articles, Jindal, who's way ahead in the polls right now, directed some of his ire not only at non-Christians but also at Protestants, whom he apparently considered to be heretics from the true Christianity.

"He has referred to Protestant religions as scandalous, depraved, selfish and heretical," the narrator tells us. "In this article, Bobby Jindal doubts the morals and questions the beliefs of Baptists, Methodists, Episcopalians, Pentecostals and other Protestant religions."

Louisiana's white Catholics are often a key swing vote, while white Protestants tend to vote heavily Republican. Will this effort to drive a wedge between Jindal and the Louisiana GOP base work?

Get your updates on the Presidential candidates right here, while they're hot:

• Barack Obama has cited an old article in Life magazine as having preciptated his racial awakening at age 9 — but it turns out the article doesn't exist, The Chicago Tribune reports. The Trib talked to the mag's in-house historians, who confirmed that the article never appeared.

• Mitt Romney's campaign announced their New Hampshire leadership team, including Manchester attorney Jim Merrill as state director, and political director Jamie Burnett, who is coming over from the office of Senator John Sununu.

• Hillary Clinton was formally endorsed by former Iowa Governor and brief Presidential candidate Tom Vilsack today. Vilsack will be a co-chairman of Hillary's campaign, while his wife Christie will co-chair the campaign in Iowa.

• John McCain voiced his concerns about the constant attention a candidate gets on the modern campaign trail: "I hope there's a statute of limitations on saying stupid things."

• John Edwards is being endorsed today by more than 20 public officials in South Carolina, including Columbia Mayor Bob Coble. Edwards is also in San Francisco today, giving a speech about global warming and energy policy.

• Former Senator John Breaux, D-LA, plans to run for Governor of Louisiana — if state Attorney General Charles Foti says he still meets the legal residency requirements: "I know I’m a citizen of Louisiana ... My family probably got there in the 1700s."

• Rudy Giuliani will be on CNBC's Kudlow & Company today at 5:00 p.m.

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"When I look back at the storms, if I had had the knowledge that I would be treated as a pariah by the national Republicans in office, I would have joined the Republican Party to save my state. Then I would have been hugged and kissed and lifted, and I would have been declared the best governor in this whole country. I wish I had realized that earlier. I think that was the fatal error."

— Louisiana Democratic Governor Kathleen Blanco, quoted in The Shreveport Times, commenting on her political decline since Hurricane Katrina and her recent decision to not seek reelection.

Now that Katrina-damaged Democratic Governor Kathleen Blanco has announced she won't pursue reelection, Dem former Senator John Breaux is publicly mulling whether to jump into the race to replace her. He just released the following statement: "Now that Governor Blanco has made her decision, I am spending time with my family while seriously evaluating what is best for Louisiana, and determining whether I can be helpful for the State as a candidate for Governor. I expect to announce my intention in the near future and want to sincerely thank all the people who have offered their advice and support."

Breaux served for 18 years as a widely popular Senator, and may be the strongest Dem candidate against Bobby Jindal, the 2003 GOP nominee for Governor and currently a Congressman from the New Orleans suburbs.

Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco is set to announce this evening that she won't be seeking reelection, according to local WAFB 9 News. Blanco, who was elected in November 2003, becoming the first woman to ever hold the office, had been saying she'd run as late as last week, telling reporters: "My plan is to continue running." Blanco's toughest challenger was seen to be Rep. Bobby Jindal.

Bobby Jindal -- who narrowly lost to Governor Kathleen Blanco in 2003 and has served in the House since 2005 -- officially declared today that he'll run for Governor again. In a blog post on his Web site, Jindal says that he'll "reach out" across the state over the next few months -- though don't mistake that for a promise that he'll be campaigning anytime soon: "BUT, and this is very important, I will not kick off my campaign until the summer."

For Jindal, staying off the trail carries a hidden benefit: It means there will be less direct political attacks on him, since he won't be out there campaigining. Instead, all the fire will be focused on one person: Embattled Governor Blanco.