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Washington (CNN) – In the early days of his campaign for governor in Virginia, Republican Bob McDonnell hired veteran GOP pollster Glen Bolger to take the pulse of the state's notoriously independent-minded voters.

Bolger asked voters if they'd rather elect of governor who would work with President Obama to implement his plans for the economy, or a governor who would serve as a check on Democrats in Washington.

Fifty-five percent wanted a governor who planned to stand up the president, Bolger discovered, while just 35 percent desired someone who would help the White House. It wasn't what he'd expected to find.

"I was kind surprised by that result, because I thought people would say that's not really a factor in the governor's race," Bolger said, noting that McDonnell won the race by a similar margin. "But people saw it as almost like Democrats are oversteering too much in one direction, and they wanted correction."

After dismal election cycles in 2006 and 2008, Republicans are hoping that signs of discomfort with President Obama's agenda will translate into big gains in governor's mansions around the country next November. They point to off-year wins this month in Virginia and New Jersey as early proof that a backlash against Democratic overreach in Washington is underway.

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Cedar Creek, Texas (CNN)– Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour said Thursday that he hopes Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison remains in the Senate and acknowledged that he has spoken with her about challenging Gov. Rick Perry in the GOP primary.

Barbour, head of the Republican Governors Association (RGA), would not elaborate on his conversation with Hutchison, but did say he personally hopes Perry wins another term.

"I would just hate to lose Kay Bailey in the Senate," Barbour said at a news conference during the RGA's annual meeting. "She has been a great senator. I would just hate to lose a great senator like that when we have a fine governor."

Barbour did note that the RGA, which is the campaign arm for GOP governors, would not be taking a side in the primary. Still, this week's conference is being held in Perry's home state and he has played a prominent role as host of the event.

Cedar Creek, Texas (CNN) - Flanked by 14 of his fellow Republican governors, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour Thursday denounced Democratic efforts to reform health care and said that states will bear the financial burden if enacted.

Barbour took specific aim at a health bill recently passed by the House as well as the new legislation introduced in the Senate by Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada.

"Sen. Reid's bill, like the House bill, guts Medicare and is a huge cost shift that will have to be borne by states," Barbour said at a news conference held during the Republican Governors Association annual meeting.

Washington (CNN) - Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour used the GOP's weekly address Saturday to argue that Tuesday's GOP victories in New Jersey and Virginia show that voters are more concerned about the economy and the jobs outlook than about health care reform.

Read Barbour's full address after the jump.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) – Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley said Tuesday that the race in New York's 23rd congressional district is evidence that the Republican Party is "at war with themselves."

"The Republican Party is a little bit at war with themselves, aren't they," the Maryland Democrat told CNN's Wolf Blitzer. "I mean, they've got the right wing of their party and they've got the extreme right wing of their party and you've seen them turn on each other time and again as they figure out what they want to do as a party, let alone what sort of direction they want to lead our country in."

But Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour said that particular race – where the local GOP appointed the nominee instead of conducting a primary – should be a lesson to Republican Party leaders around the country to hold elections.

Barbour, a Republican, reiterated that he does not see Tuesday's election results as a referendum on President Obama, but rather as a reflection of how voters feel about his policies. He said that if the Democratic candidates lose or win the gubernatorial races in New Jersey or Virginia by a small margin, that it will "help Republicans next year, because they're going to be really good for candidate recruiting and they're going to be a real springboard for the 2010 elections."

"A win is a win, except if you're trying to assess what effect is the administration and its policies having on Democratic candidates," Barbour said.

Washington (CNN) – Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour had blunt words on CNN’s State of the Union about the conservative uprising that toppled a moderate Republican candidate in New York’s 23rd Congressional District.

“They should’ve had a primary,” the former Republican National Committee chairman said of the ill-fated decision by local party leaders in upstate New York to anoint Dede Scozzafava as the establishment choice in Tuesday’s special election.

Many conservatives disagreed that Scozzafava was the right fit for the conservative district and conservative Republican Doug Hoffman decided to mount a challenge to her as the candidate of New York’s Conservative Party.

With polls showing her lagging behind Hoffman and her Democratic opponent and without sufficient fundraising to defend against attacks coming from both ends of the political spectrum, Scozzafava made the surprise announcement Saturday that she was dropping out of the special election in the longtime Republican district.

Barbour described Scozzafava as having been “endorsed by six or seven people” in the local party leadership. And the Mississippi governor faulted the New York Republican Party chairman at the time for “letting a handful of people pick somebody who is not just a liberal Republican - she’s more liberal than many of the Democrats.

“But that’s not the issue,” Barbour continued, “The issue is that people didn’t get a choice and so they didn’t feel beholden to [Scozzafava].“They should’ve had a primary. They should have let Republicans choose who they wanted to have as their nominee instead of it being inside baseball, smoke-filled room – the kind of stuff that we’ve all tried to get rid of.”

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WASHINGTON (CNN) – As one of only two statewide campaigns in the 2009 election cycle, the Virginia governor's race has seen a parade of national political stars make the trip to the Old Dominion.

Late Friday, Creigh Deeds' campaign announced that President Obama would join the Democratic candidate on the trail at the end of the month. Obama's 2008 presidential rival will get there first: On Saturday, Sen. John McCain will make his second trip to Virginia on behalf of Republican candidate Bob McDonnell. McCain, a decorated Navy hero, will help McDonnell make a closing pitch to veterans at a rally in Hampton Roads, a region of the state with a heavy military population.

McCain isn't the only high-profile Republican who has stumped for the former Virginia Attorney General: Two other former presidential candidates - former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee - have twice visited the state twice to campaign. Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani also raised money for McDonnell.

Along with Romney and Huckabee, McDonnell has welcomed a number of top Republicans who may run for president in 2012. That list includes Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, and Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, the chairman of the Republican Governors Association. Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele campaigned with McDonnell in May.

Creigh Deeds, who spent the first half of the year in a three-way fight for the Democratic nomination, hasn't had an army of national figures campaign with him. But several prominent Democrats have chipped in to help.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) - Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour has assumed the chairmanship of the Republican Governors Association, CNN has learned.

Barbour immediately takes over as head of the national Republican campaign organization following South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford’s announcement he was leaving the post. Sanford acknowledged Wednesday that he had an extramarital affair with a woman in Argentina.

“The news revealed today hurts all of us who have gotten to know Governor Sanford over the years and so it is with regret that the RGA accepted Governor Sanford’s resignation as chairman,” Barbour said in a statement obtained by CNN that will be distributed Wednesday afternoon. “While this news is deeply disappointing, I also know it’s important to remain focused on the future and Governor Sanford’s resignation allows him and us to do just that.

Barbour added: “The RGA has an important task over the next two years. I am committed to seeing it through and confident we will succeed.”

Nick Ayers, the RGA’s executive director, expressed disappointment about Sanford’s revelation.

“While I am personally disappointed in today’s revelation, I also know that it’s important for both Governor Sanford and the RGA to move forward as quickly as possible,” Ayers said in the forthcoming statement. “Therefore we accepted his resignation this afternoon.

“However, the RGA is fortunate that Governor Haley Barbour was in line to become RGA Chairman, a position he assumed today. As a former RNC chairman and one of the best governors in the country, no one is better positioned to takeover as RGA chairman than Governor Barbour.”

WASHINGTON (CNN) - When a leading Republican public official visits New Hampshire and Iowa back-to-back, it sparks speculation of a 2012 run for the Republican presidential nomination. And that's exactly what Haley Barbour's doing this week. But the Mississippi governor is playing down talk of presidential politics.

Barbour speaks at a state GOP fundraising event in New Hampshire tomorrow. New Hampshire traditionally holds the first primary in the race for the White House. Thursday, the former chairman of the Republican National Committee attends a fundraiser in Iowa for that state's GOP. The Iowa caucuses kick of the presidential primary season.

To top it off, Barbour campaigned Monday in Virginia with Bob McDonnell, the state's gubernatorial candidate. The contests for Virginia and New Jersey's governorships are the two biggest political battles of the year.

But Barbour appears to be waving off presidential politics. At a news conference in Washington Tuesday, where he teamed up with House Republicans to discuss health care reform, Barbour was asked when he's going to make a decision on running for president.

"Probably never," said Barbour. "But, you know Gov. Sununu called me and said he'd like to have somebody come up to New Hampshire who wasn't running for president to talk about party building and I told him I'm your man."

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WASHINGTON (CNN) – Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour has a busy week of political travel ahead of him, sparking chatter that he's collecting chits for 2012 presidential run.

Barbour - a widely-respected figure among party insiders who will wrap up his second term, conveniently, in 2011 - is visiting a trio of important states this week, beginning on Monday in Virginia, where he's campaigning for Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell.

On Wednesday, he'll work his southern charm up north in Bedford, New Hampshire at a fundraising reception for the state GOP. And on Thursday, he's speaking at another state party fundraiser in the pivotal caucus state of Iowa.

Matt Strawn, the chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa, said Barbour was invited to speak at their "Night of the Rising Stars" in Des Moines, in part, because Barbour knocked off a Democratic incumbent to claim the governorship in 2003. Iowa Republicans are trying hoping for a similar result against Democrat Chet Culver next year.

"Haley has a message that will resonate with Iowa Republicans, capturing a governorship and providing competent and common sense conservative leadership," Strawn said.

Barbour, a 61-year old native of Yazoo City, Mississippi, is a former lobbyist and Republican National Committee chairman who won the governorship in 2003 and was easily re-elected in 2007. Even with a Democratic legislature, he has governed as a strong fiscal and social conservative, although he did sign into law a cigarette tax increase in May.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) – Relations between Republican governors and congressional GOP leaders is the best it has been in at least a decade, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour said Thursday in a conference call with reporters.

Barbour, vice chairman of the Republican Governors Association, singled out former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Senate Majority Leader Robert Dole for reaching out to governors during the 1990s, but noted that the state and national GOP leaders "sort of drifted away" from each other over the past 10 years. The Mississippi governor delivered the Republican weekly address in March.

Barbour, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, also said the RGA and the RNC are "like-minded" in that both campaign organizations are focused on the 2010 midterm elections.

"I do think the RNC agrees with us at RGA that we don't need to talk about anything past 2010," Barbour said.

Next year, one-third of the Senate and the entire House will be up for election, and 36 gubernatorial races will take place. This year, two gubernatorial races are scheduled in New Jersey and Virginia.

And when asked if recent news stories about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, a potential 2012 Republican presidential candidate, had been a distraction, Barbour said he didn't think so.

(CNN) - Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour blasted President Obama’s budget proposal, saying it taxes and spends too much.

In the weekly GOP address, Barbour said of the proposed budget: “It reminds me of how one of our old senators used to joke about the federal budget. He said it was like a newborn baby: insatiable appetite at one end and total irresponsibility at the other.”

Barbour said the new taxes won’t come close to covering Obama’s spending, meaning “children and grandchildren will be saddled with trillions more in debt.”

“In this budget season we have choices. While states are controlling spending and balancing their budgets, the Obama budget spends too much, taxes too much and borrows too much. It's not the right choice for America,” Barbour said.

Full text after the jump

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(CNN) – It's no coincidence President Obama has traveled to key swing states to push his massive stimulus measure, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour said Sunday.

Barbour, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, said Obama's recent travel is an indication that the new president is already running for reelection.

"He's going to those places for a reason," Barbour said on CNN's State of the Union. "I mean David Axelrod, who's his campaign consultant/manager/guru really is one of the brightest, most capable people in American politics. And so this is what we've become accustomed to, the perpetual campaign."

In the last few weeks, the president has visited Florida, Ohio, Indiana, Virginia, and Colorado - all states that voted Republican in the 2004 presidential election but flipped to the Democrat's side in 2008. Obama has also visited Arizona - the home state of his former rival, Sen. John McCain, and a state he'd like to turn blue in 2012.

The White House has said the president specifically visited those states because they are among the hardest hit by the nations sputtering economy and home foreclosure crisis.

(CNN) - Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, a Republican, reiterated Sunday he will reject some of the funds in the massive $787 billion stimulus measure if it forces his state to spend its own money in the future.

Speaking on CNN's State of the Union, Barbour specifically cited an unemployment reform package included in the stimulus bill calling for an increase in benefits as evidence his state would have to pick up the tab on the provision in a couple of years.

Related: Some GOP govs say stimulus may hurt

"If we were to take the unemployment reform package that they have, it would cause us to raise taxes on employment when the money runs out and the money will run out in a couple of years and then we'll have to raise the unemployment insurance tax which is literally a tax on employment," Barbour said.

Related: Schwarzenegger calls stimulus 'terrific'

"I mean, we want more jobs," he also said. "You don't get more jobs by putting an extra tax on creating jobs."

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, a Democrat, appearing with Barbour, disagreed with the Mississippi governor’s assertion but acknowledged that states will have to be prudent about what to do once the stimulus money runs out. For now, Deval said he is prepared to accept all the money allotted to his state in the measure, specifically citing its effects on improving the nation's infrastructure.

"Certainly in Massachusetts, people want their roads repaired and want bridges repaired and want a clean energy strategy and alternatives and real alternatives and want us to be candid with them about those needs, he said. "Whether governors say they will or won't take this or that as part of the stimulus bill, in some ways, is irrelevant. People want that help."