Showing no worries of superstition, Louisiana Gov. Piyush "Bobby" Jindal became the 13th Republican to officially announce his candidacy for the party's 2016 presidential nomination.
Lucky number 13? Jindal jumps into GOP presidential race.— Kathy Gray (@michpoligal) June 24, 2015
Jindal tweeted the announcement, and posted a series of videos that show him discussing his presidency with his wife and children.
I’m running for President of the United States of America. Join me: http://t.co/MmqB4kxpUq— Gov. Bobby Jindal (@BobbyJindal) June 24, 2015
(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));Keeping the attention of an eight year old can be hard. Even when you have a family talk about running for President.Posted by Bobby Jindal on Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Aides discussed Jindal's plans to focus on social conservatives, as he has done for months during his extensive travels, and highlight his reputation as a policy-seasoned leader.
Jindal intends to present himself as "the youngest candidate with the longest resume," citing an extensive background in public policy and government, according to Republican political strategist Curt Anderson. Timmy Teepell, who was Jindal's chief of staff and ran his two races for Louisiana governor, will be his campaign manager.
Jindal faces a crowded field. So far, 12 other GOP candidates have formally launched campaigns: former Florida governor Jeb Bush, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, former New York governor George Pataki, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, former Texas governor Rick Perry, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, and businessman and TV personality Donald Trump.
This is a sharp visualization of the Republican primary field from 538. http://t.co/Tdzri79Jko pic.twitter.com/j17J9LOfBy— Neil Irwin (@Neil_Irwin) June 24, 2015
Jindal also faces an uphill climb in terms of public perception. On the political end, Jindal has faced scrutiny over his stark reversal on Common Core, going from a staunch supporter to a lawsuit-filing opponent of the set of national education standards.
He also received backlash for calling certain areas of Europe "no-go zones" due to Muslim influence, and inserted himself into the national debate on guns following the Charleston shooting.
On the cultural end, Jindal is probably best remembered for his disastrous 2009 State of the Union rebuttal.
Perhaps all of this is why, according to polling data by The Huffington Post, he currently ranks 14th behind other official and likely GOP presidential candidate at 0.7%, down from 1.6% in January 2015.
The 44-year-old two-term governor plans to hold a kickoff rally later Wednesday in Kenner, Louisiana.
At pontchartrain center 4 jindal announce pic.twitter.com/Qe9MxrBqWD— Richard A. Webster (@RichardAWebster) June 24, 2015
Additional reporting by The Associated Press