As a leader of the Republican Party who championed Sen. John McCain’s bid for the White House, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour’s fortunes have changed with his party’s weakened performance at the ballot box Tuesday.
Barbour is a former lobbyist and former head of the Republican National Committee, raising record donations that helped his party in 1994 – for the first time in 40 years – capture both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Barbour first campaigned for the governor’s office in 2003, touting his ties to Republicans in Washington, who at that time controlled both the White House and Congress.
Barbour’s close relationship with President Bush helped in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Many of his recovery proposals, such as a block-grant program to help uninsured homeowners, were approved quickly by federal officials. He also was able to get federal help to make up shortfalls in the state’s Medicaid funding.
But Bush will be leaving the White House in January, and Democrats – who’ve increased their majorities in the House and Senate – likely will head the government agencies that have been receptive to the governor’s lobbying.
