BATON ROUGE, La. -- Republican Congressman Bobby Jindal, the 36-year-old son of Indian immigrants, won the Louisiana governor's race Saturday, carrying more than half the vote against 11 opponents to become the state's first non-white governor since Reconstruction.

Bill Haber / Associated Press

Congressman Bobby Jindal. (File Photo)

"Let's give our homeland, the great state of Louisiana, a fresh start," Jindal said to cheers and applause from a crowd that began chanting his name at his victory party.

Later, he congratulated his opponents, thanked his wife, and paid homage to his parents, who stood nearby.

"My mom and dad came to this country in pursuit of the American dream. And guess what happened. They found the American Dream to be alive and well right here in Louisiana," Jindal said.

With about 92 percent of the vote in, Jindal had 625,036 votes or 53 percent -- more than enough to win outright and avoid a Nov. 17 runoff. His nearest competitors: Democrat Walter Boasso with 208,690 votes or 18 percent; Independent John Georges had 1167,477 votes or 14 percent; Democrat Foster Campbell had 151,101 or 13 percent. Eight candidates divided the rest.

"I'm asking all of our supporters to get behind our new governor," Georges said in a concession speech, congratulating Jindal.

The Oxford-educated Jindal had lost the governor's race four years ago to Gov. Kathleen Blanco. He won the a congressional seat in conservative suburban New Orleans a year later but was widely believed to have his eye on the governor's mansion. Blanco opted not to run for re-election after she was widely blamed for the state's slow response to hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.

When he takes office in January, Jindal will become the nation's youngest governor in office.

Going in, no one questioned that Jindal would be atop the field once all votes were tallied. That he could win an outright majority was a possibility but not a sure thing, based on recent polls.

Boasso, Campbell and Georges had been considered the strongest candidates for a for a spot in the Nov. 17 runoff, had one been needed.

Political analysts said Jindal built up support as a sort of "buyer's remorse" from people who voted for Blanco last time and had second thoughts about that decision. Blanco was widely criticized for the state's response to Hurricane Katrina and she announced months ago that she would not seed re-election.

"I think the Jindal camp, almost explicitly, (wanted) to cast it this way: If you were able to revote, who would you vote for?" said Pearson Cross, a University of Louisiana at Lafayette political scientist.

Jindal has held a strong lead in the polls since the field of candidates became settled nearly two months ago.

But the two multimillionaires in the race -- Boasso, a state senator from St. Bernard Parish, and Georges, a New Orleans-area businessman -- have poured millions of their own dollars into their campaigns to try to prevent Jindal's victory.

Campbell, a public service commissioner from Bossier Parish, has had a more limited amount of funds to tap but has run on a singular plan: scrapping the state income tax on businesses and individuals and levying a new tax on oil and gas processed in Louisiana.

The race has been one of the highest-spending in Louisiana history. Jindal alone raised $11 million, and Georges poured about $10 million of his personal wealth into his campaign war chest while Boasso plugged in nearly $5 million of his own cash.

A victory Saturday would be a rare trip to statewide office for a minority in the South -- in a state that 16 years ago famously saw a former Ku Klux Klan leader, David Duke, in a runoff for governor. Duke lost that race.

Political analysts said Jindal's chances of winning without a runoff hinged on black voters, who make up 29 percent of registered voters in Louisiana and have historically voted for Democrats.

Some black political leaders complained Saturday of problems at polls in New Orleans, where many people have moved around since Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005.

State Elections Commissioner Angie LaPlace said she had expected many complaints because a check of voters' addresses found that a "ton" had moved, and those whose mail is forwarded must vote in the precinct where they now get mail.

Sandra Wilson, the Orleans Parish registrar of voters, said she had received many calls from voters who weren't allowed to vote in their accustomed place. "We are trying to explain the process," she said, but did not know exactly how many people were affected.

Addresses are verified statewide each year, but the Legislature postponed last year's review because so many people were displaced, LaPlace said.

State Rep. Juan LaFonta, D-New Orleans and chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus said the review was supposed to be postponed this year as well.

"I'm very disappointed right now. I feel like I'm in Florida, not Louisiana," LaFonta said, referring to the contested 2000 presidential vote.

He added that he would press Secretary of State Jay Dardenne, the state's top elections official, for answers.

LaPlace said the Legislature did not order a suspension of voter roll inspections this year.

"No one raised this issue until just now. No one suggested that we were not supposed to be canvassing in 2007," she said.

Jindal, a fast-talking, former health care and university official, appeared to be in a near perpetual campaign for governor since his loss to Blanco in 2003.

He easily won an open congressional seat in suburban New Orleans a year after the defeat, gaining his first elected post. But he routinely visited areas far outside of his congressional district, helping to build a rock solid base of core voters around the state well before any other candidates announced their plans.

Jindal campaigned defensively and participated in a limited number of debates while his opponents appeared in forum after forum with an empty chair or podium sometimes representing Jindal.

The Louisiana Democratic Party, Boasso and Georges launched attack ads in an attempt to peel away some of Jindal's shakier support and force a November runoff.

Boasso presented Jindal as a two-dimensional cardboard cutout and said Jindal, as state health secretary, was a number-crunching bureaucrat who cut services to the needy and disabled. The state Democratic Party ran ads claiming Jindal was acting as though the race was a coronation rather than a competition and accusing Jindal, a Catholic, of religious intolerance. And Georges called Jindal a hypocrite for taking campaign contributions from special interests while campaigning on ethics reform and against corruption.

Jindal -- who left attacks on his record mainly unanswered in 2003 -- responded quickly this time. "Enough's enough," he said.

In one of his campaign's TV ads, Jindal portrayed Boasso and Campbell as corrupt clowns, shoving their pockets with cash. His campaign also ran an ad about Georges' ties to the video poker industry.

The race has featured some of the highest-spending in Louisiana history. Jindal alone raised $11 million. Georges poured about $10 million of his personal wealth into his campaign bid, while Boasso plugged in nearly $5 million of his own cash.

Jindal officially launched his campaign with a bid for ethics reform in state government, saying corruption was impeding the state's improvement but declining to say who or what agencies he considered corrupt. He stuck to a conservative message while campaigning, referencing his religious beliefs and complaining of big government and "out of control" spending.

His three main competitors struggled to distinguish themselves in a race where all four major candidates agreed the state's schools, health care system and roads needed improving.

Georges touted his business experience. Boasso said his four years in the state Senate showed him that being governor was the only way to make sweeping changes in Louisiana. And Campbell pushed an oil and gas tax plan as the way to raise billions of dollars to cure the state's ills.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)