Jindal files for re-election in Louisiana

(CNN) - Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal filed Tuesday to run for another four-year term in office.

"I am pleased and honored the people have entrusted me to be their governor these past three and a half years,” Jindal said in an e-mail to supporters. “I'm officially asking them today to elect me to a second term.”

The election, set for Oct. 22, has drawn no serious challengers for Jindal, the Times-Picayune reports.

The announcement comes as the 2012 presidential election begins to gear up - a race many people once thought might include the young Louisiana governor.

Early in his term, Jindal was widely considered a rising GOP star. Speculation began about a potential 2012 presidential run for Jindal almost as soon as President Barack Obama took office in January 2009.

The governor was a vocal critic of the president's stimulus package and made headlines when he pledged to refuse any funds from the bill for Louisiana.

But almost as quickly as Jindal rose to GOP fame, he fell back into the shadows after making the Republican response to Obama's State of the Union address in 2009.

Many conservatives expected the response to be a launch pad for the governor, but Jindal earned bad reviews from both parties for his performance. Critics said his delivery was over-coached, amateurish and relied too heavily on Hurricane Katrina references.

Jindal made somewhat of a political comeback in 2010 after receiving praise for his handling of the BP oil spill off the Gulf Coast. But he has since repeatedly denied any intention to run for president.

"Our state's been through a lot," Jindal said in the e-mail, citing Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, as well as floods, the recent drought and last week's Tropical Storm Lee.

"What that shows us is that Louisianans are a resilient people. We've been through all those challenges and yet we continue to build a better state for our children and grandchildren,” Jindal said. “Our work is not done yet.”

At age 36, he was the youngest U.S. governor when elected in 2007, and the first Indian-American governor ever. He gained wide praise for his leadership during Hurricane Gustav in 2008, as he ordered a mandatory evacuation and called more than 3,000 National Guard troops into the state.

Adding to his star power was speculation that Sen. John McCain might choose Jindal as a running mate in the senator's 2008 bid for president.