 Downer secured the endorsement of thirty-three members of the state legislature from both parties and both chambers, including Republican Representatives Carl Crane of Baton Rouge and Ernie Alexander of Lafayette as well as the Democrat Francis C. Thompson of Delhi in Richland Parish in northeast Louisiana.Yet, Downer received only 84,718 votes (6 percent) in the primary, compared to 444,389 ballots (33 percent) for Jindal.In turn, Jindal was defeated by the leading Democrat Kathleen Babineaux Blanco of Lafayette in the general election.