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This story originally appeared in the Jackson Free Press. It was added to the Mississippi Free Press website in 2025.
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Gov. Haley Barbour heads to Chicago today, where he will outline his own plan for national economic policies. Credit: Roy Adkins

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour was out of state all or part of 48 days in July, August and September, The Associated Press reported Saturday.

Through an open records request to the state, the AP obtained information showing that Barbour was out of the state all or part of 145 days during the stateโ€™s last fiscal year, which ended June 30. While news reports show Barbour was often campaigning for Republican candidates in other states, Barbourโ€™s spokesman Dan Turner said the governor also was working on economic projects, testifying at congressional hearings and trying to obtain funds for Hurricane Katrina recovery.

Records also show that Barbour was out of state for all or part of 28 days during the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Previous Comments

So? Anything he could do sitting in Jackson, he can do over a cell phone from anywhere else.


What was he suppose to do mop up oil? I never complained about Obama not coming to the coast, what was he gonna do, mop oil beside Haley? Either one of them being there was a photo-op, neither one of them had a clue as what to do, they did what they were suppose to do, let people who know what the hell to do, do it and stay out of the way. If Obama never sets foot in Mississippi again is fine with me.


If you don’t like Barbour’s agenda you should be glad he’s out of the state for now. He’ll be out of state most of the time if he gets in the White House.

Mississippi native Donna Ladd and partner Todd Stauffer founded the Jackson Free Press in 2002 in the capital city. The heavily awarded local newspaper did many investigations heralded across the state and nation and served as a paper of record due to its diversity, inclusion, in-depth reporting and deep connection to readers and dedication to narrative change in and about Mississippi. In 2022, the nonprofit Mississippi Free Press, founded by Ladd and JFP Associate Publisher Kimberly Griffin in 2020, purchased the journalism assets and archives of the Jackson Free Press. A Google grant through AAN Publishers enabled Newspack's integration of the JFP archives into the Mississippi Free Press website to become part of a more searchable archive of recent Mississippi history and essential journalism.