Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour will headline a national campaign tour next week with four other nationally known Republican governors, hitting 15 cities in five days to drive voter turnout and media coverage in favor of the GOP.
Barbour, chair of the Republican Governors Association, will kick off what the RGA is calling its “Remember November” tour on Tuesday in Hobbs, N.M., with Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal.
The tour will conclude on Saturday, with a Barbour appearance in Tampa, Fla., and a rally with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in a still to be determined location in Wisconsin.
The Christie event in Wisconsin is the only one of 16 rallies that Barbour will not attend. Barbour will travel by himself to two other cities on Tuesday after the rally with Jindal, go to three cities Wednesday with Jindal and Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, hit two cities with McDonnell on Thursday, go to four cities on Friday with Christie and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, and do events in three cities Saturday, one with Christie, one with Pawlenty and the last by himself.
The tour will accomplish many things at once: It will counter, at least in part, President Obama’s campaign jaunt on behalf of Democratic candidates, it will boost Barbour’s national profile in advance of a potential launch into a presidential run, and it will gain goodwill for Barbour among a host of national candidates.
Gubernatorial candidates will appear at each of the rallies. The full roster of candidates down the ticket for each event is still being worked out, the RGA said.
All of it is possible because of Barbour’s massive fundraising haul this year. The RGA outraised the Democratic Governors Association three to one in the third quarter, bringing in $31 million to $10 million.
“This campaign season has become a battle between rhetoric and reality,” said RGA Communications Director Mike Schrimpf. “To distract from their failed economic record and ideas, Democrats nationally are repeating the same old, unfounded charges about Republican candidates that they used last year against Governors Chris Christie and Bob McDonnell.”
“Republican governors are where the Democrats’ harsh rhetoric meets reality,” Schrimpf continued. “Governors like Chris Christie and Bob McDonnell have successfully focused on the pocketbook issues that voters care about and provide a clear contrast with the Democrats’ record.”
Here is the full schedule of the tour:
Tuesday
Hobbs, N.M. — Governors Haley Barbour and Bobby Jindal
Riverton, Wyo. — Governor Haley Barbour
Sioux Falls, S.D. — Governor Haley Barbour
Wednesday
Newton, Iowa — Governors Haley Barbour, Bob McDonnell and Bobby Jindal
Milwaukee, Wisc. — Governors Haley Barbour, Bob McDonnell and Bobby Jindal
Homer Glen, Ill. — Governors Haley Barbour, Bob McDonnell and Bobby Jindal
Thursday
Manchester, N.H. — Governors Haley Barbour and Bob McDonnell
Blue Bell, Pa. — Governors Haley Barbour and Bob McDonnell
Friday
Reading, Pa. — Governors Haley Barbour, Chris Christie and Tim Pawlenty
Lancaster, Pa. — Governors Haley Barbour, Chris Christie and Tim Pawlenty
Lebanon, Ohio — Governors Haley Barbour, Chris Christie and Tim Pawlenty
Pontiac, Mich. — Governors Haley Barbour and Chris Christie
Saturday
Portland Area, Ore. — Governors Haley Barbour and Chris Christie
Anoka, Minn. — Governors Haley Barbour and Tim Pawlenty
Tampa, Fla. — Governor Haley Barbour
TBD, Wisc. – Governor Chris Christie