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Republican Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal declined over Labor Day weekend to endorse GOP incumbent Louisiana Senator David Vitter, whose seat is being challenged by Democratic Rep. Charlie Melancon.

"Voters can make up their own minds," Jindal told Louisiana television station WDSU on Saturday.

Jindal said that he does not take sides in federal races, but media outlets quickly pointed out that the Louisiana governor has done just that in the past.

Jindal spokesperson Melissa Sellers left the door open to the possibility that the governor could still endorse Vitter before Election Day, referring RealClearPolitics to a statement she made to that effect to CNN.com.

Democrats have been hammering Vitter relentlessly over his admitted "serious sin" related to the 2007 D.C. madam prostitution scandal and his office's handling of a former staffer who allegedly assaulted and held hostage a female acquaintance and has an outstanding warrant on a DUI arrest

"The message from the governor is clear: he doesn't want to be associated with Senator Vitter in any way," Louisiana Democratic Party spokesperson Kevin Franck told RealClearPolitics. "His colleagues don't want to work with him because he's tainted in scandal and more interested in scoring political points than in getting things done."

Jindal's hesitancy to endorse a sitting GOP senator from his own state raised questions about what motivated him not to get involved in a race that is on a very short list of Republican-held seats that national Democrats have targeted this election cycle.

Jindal has long been considered a rising national star in the Republican Party and enjoys a wholesome image that he may be hesitant to risk scarring by expressing his support for a politician who was embroiled in a prostitution scandal.

Still, Democrats' relentless questioning of Vitter's character does not seem to have made an impact to this point, as Vitter was leading Melacon 54 percent to 33 percent in the latest Rasmussen poll of 500 likely voters conducted on August 30.

Louisiana Democrats are now hoping that little-known conservatives running to the right of Vitter in the general election - chiefly state legislator Ernest Wooton and tea party-affiliated Mike Spears - will siphon enough votes away from the incumbent to give Melancon a victory.

"This race is more than just winnable...Charlie will win this race," Franck said. "He's exactly on target and right where we want to be coming out of Labor Day."