Commissioner Donelon Re-elected In La.

Incumbent Republican Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon has been re-elected, according to the Louisiana Secretary of State's Office.

The unofficial results for the Oct. 20 election gave Mr. Donelon the victory with 606,836 votes, or 51 percent of the votes cast. Runner-up was James Crowley, a Democrat, who received 424,100 votes, or 36 percent of the total votes cast.

Robert Lansden, a Republican, placed third with 106,050 votes, or 9 percent of the total results, and Jerilyn Schneider-Kneale, a Republican, placed last with 5 percent of the vote, or a total of 55,424 ballots.

Mr. Donelon was named Louisiana Insurance Commissioner on Feb. 15, 2006 following the resignation of then Commissioner Robert Wooley.

Prior to being named insurance commissioner, Mr. Donelon had served in the department as chief deputy commissioner. He also served in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1982 to 2001.

His campaign, however, stressed his background as a retired colonel and announced he had "stopped the insurance companies from cancelling our polices and made them give us more time to settle claims."

Mr. Donelon's advertising made veiled reference to the conviction of two previous Democratic insurance commissioners, asking "after all the scandals we've had, why not try competence?"

The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) reacted to the election results by commenting that .Louisiana residents "have decided to continue down a positive path toward recovery and revitalization of both the state's insurance marketplace and the overall business environment.

According to PCI, Governor-elect Bobby Jindal and Commissioner Donelon "have demonstrated a commitment to finding reasonable solutions that not only support consumers but also help stabilize the insurance marketplace."

Greg LaCost, assistant vice president and regional manager for PCI, announced the group is "pleased to continue our work with Commissioner Donelon," who he said has shown fairness and creativity in addressing insurance issues after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.