Blossman continued to sink in the opinion polls, was denied a seat in a candidate debate forum, withdrew from the gubernatorial race, and endorsed Downer, who contested Jindal for a potential but not assured GOP slot in the general election. Earlier, Blossman had called Downer "a liberal Democrat", but he then said that only Downer, among the Republican candidates, could actually win the general election. Blossman said that Jindal, who is seven years younger than Blossman, was at that time too young and inexperienced to prevail in the governor's race.