Haley Barbour known for fundraising talent and tactics

Haley Barbour known for fundraising talent and tactics

As he ponders a run for president, Haley Barbour would not seem a natural fit for the anti-establishment political mood now brewing: the governor of Mississippi is a longtime inside-the-Beltway operator who lobbied for the tobacco industry and other powerful interests.

But Barbour wields a key asset that makes him a potential heavyweight in a crowded GOP field: fundraising prowess born of decades as a Republican power player.

Presiding over his party’s national committee and then its governor’s association, Barbour raked in donations with a ferocity that delighted Republicans, boggled Democrats and alarmed campaign finance watchdogs.

Tribune Washington Bureau
3/27/11