Dude. Bobby lost to Meemaw prior to Katrina. He was very young, not well known, had never even run for office before, and was a bit of an odd duck for Louisiana. Once Louisianians got to know Bobby better he pretty much swept the State on his second try.
Who the hell is Meemaw? I thought he ran against Blanco?
From Wikipedia...
Blanco was elected on November 15, 2003, defeating her Republican opponent Bobby Jindal, in the general election, by a margin of 52 percent to 48 percent.