Jindal to compete against Iowa GOP stars

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) is heading to Iowa next weekend to pump up his stock with an eye on 2016 Republican presidential nomination. 

But if former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is a venerable blue chipper like General Electric and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is a fast-rising star like Facebook, then Jindal may be more akin to Crocs, a once promising bet that lost 40 percent of its value in a single week and has muddled along ever since.

{mosads}Jindal is well regarded among GOP insiders for his policy acumen but his political standing never quite recovered from his disappointing 2009 State-of-the-Union response, for which he was roundly mocked.

Still, some lawmakers such as Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) think Jindal has a legitimate shot to win the 2016 nomination because he is a governor and has potential appeal for conservative Democrats and independents. 

The Des Moines Register has reported his itinerary for Aug. 8 and 9.

On Friday, he will speak at the Iowa Renewal Project’s policy briefing for pastors and then campaign with candidate Mariannette Miller-Meeks at the Knoxville Raceway and at the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum.

On Saturday, he will visit the Iowa State Fair and join Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) at the Conservative Leadership Council.

He will speak later that day at the Family Leadership Summit in Ames, alongside bigger-name presidential hopefuls, including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas.) and Texas Gov. Rick Perry.

Jindal made a play for social conservatives earlier this year when spoke at the Iowa Republican convention mid June.