Louisiana Gov. Jindal to keynote Indiana Republican Fall Dinner

Staff report
TheStatehouseFile.com

INDIANAPOLIS – Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal – who is considered a possible 2016 Republican presidential candidate – will keynote a state GOP event next month in Indianapolis.

Jindal will appear at the Indiana Republican Fall Dinner on Nov. 25 at the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown.

“Gov. Bobby Jindal is a shining example that Republican ideas can, and do, work,” said Tim Berry, chairman of the Indiana Republican Party. “He has cut taxes, implemented new ethics reforms and, as a nationally recognized health care expert, helps lead the way in the fight against Obamacare.”

Jindal is serving his second term as governor after a stint in the U.S. House. He’s been an outspoken critic of the Affordable Care Act and has led his state’s decision not to take federal money to expand Medicaid to more poor residents.

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence has also rejected a Medicaid expansion – unless the state can use its Healthy Indiana Plan, which includes premiums or co-pays, to do it.  So far, federal officials have not approved Indiana’s request.

“As a former member of Congress and current governor, Bobby Jindal is in a unique position, just like Gov. Mike Pence, to understand the contrast between the dysfunctional Washington led by President Barack Obama and states that work like Indiana and Louisiana,” Berry said.

Jindal is one of several Republicans considered to be possible contenders for the GOP presidential nomination for 2016. Over the weekend, Jindal told Fox News Sunday, “I don’t know what I’m going to do in 2016.”

Jindal is the latest current or former governor to speak at an Indiana Republican event. In the last few years, the GOP has also hosted Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, former Utah governor Jon Huntsman, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who was the Republican nominee for president in 2012.