Bobby Jindal enters 2016 Republican presidential campaign

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal says he's entering the already crowded Republican race for president in 2016, and the 44-year-old son of Indian immigrants quickly tried to set himself apart as "the youngest candidate with the longest resumé."

Jindal hosted a kickoff rally Wednesday evening, touting his experience as governor, as he sets his sights on the top office in the U.S.

"We did what they said could not be done — we shrank our government," Jindal said at the live event.

He blasted his competitors as talkers, saying they couldn't match his results.

"It is time for a doer," he said. "I'm not running for president to be somebody. I'm running to do something." 

Jindal said he helped drive economic growth and progress in his state and promised to drive change in Washington.

Ahead of the live event, Jindal's campaign posted short video clips on his website. The clips show Jindal and his wife, Supriya, talking to their three children about the campaign to come. "Mommy and Daddy have been thinking and talking a lot about this, and we have decided we are going to be running for president," he tells them.

In the videos, the family is sitting around a table, talking about the decision to run and what they can expect in the months ahead — as well as some promises if Jindal is elected.

"If we move into the White House, you can have a puppy," he says in one of the short clips. 

Earlier, aides said he plans to focus on social conservatives.

The Oxford-educated Jindal talked a governor into appointing him state health secretary when he was 24, with little background in either health management or government. Jindal won election to Congress at 32 and became governor four years later.

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Unpopular at home, Jindal waited until the state legislative session had ended and lawmakers found a way to close a $1.6-billion budget gap before he scheduled his presidential announcement. But he has been building his campaign for months with frequent trips to key early indicator states, particularly Iowa, where he has focused on Christian conservatives.

Raised a Hindu but a convert to Catholicism as a teenager, Jindal has talked of his religious faith in small churches across Louisiana. As he readied his presidential campaign, he met pastors across several states and put out an executive order to grant special "religious freedom" protections to people in Louisiana who oppose same-sex marriage.

Jindal has made his religious beliefs the centrepiece of his campaign, courting evangelical voters and aggressively promoting religious liberty. His rivals in the presidential race include Texas Senator Ted Cruz and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, who also are trying to appeal to evangelical voters.

The Louisiana governor said he knows some people think he talks about his faith too much, but said he wouldn't be silenced.

"I'd be wary of a president who didn't seek wisdom from the Almighty," Jindal said.

He said Christianity is under assault in America and that religious liberty is fundamental to freedom.

Jindal has drawn distinctions from other Republican contenders by noting he has published "detailed plans" on health care, defence, education and energy policy. He has suggested governors are better equipped to become president because they have run state governments, balanced budgets and implemented policy.

He's only lost one election, a failed bid for governor in 2003. His introduction to much of the country flopped with a speech he made in 2009 as a response to President Barack Obama's first presidential address to Congress. Jindal was criticized for appearing to speak down to his audience.