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Updated Friday, June 26, 2009 10:01 am TWN, By Beth Fouhy, AP

S.C. gov.'s affair is problem for Republicans

The 49-year old Sanford has been a fierce critic of Obama's US$787 billion economic stimulus package, even going to court to block US$700 million South Carolina was to receive. He lost the court battle but boosted his national profile, making him a target of attack from national Democratic operatives — many of whom pounced on Sanford's unusual departure.

To be sure, not all politically ambitious Republican governors have seen their political fortunes stuck in the spring mud.

Mississippi's Haley Barbour was heading out Wednesday for high-profile visits to New Hampshire and Iowa, states with key early presidential contests. Minnesota's Tim Pawlenty announced last month he would not seek re-election next year, clearing the way for an expected 2012 bid.

Florida's Charlie Crist is running to succeed retiring Republican Sen. Mel Martinez next year and could well have a presidential bid in the future. And Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, who won praise for pushing his party to diversify, was viewed as enough of a political threat to Obama in 2012 that the president appointed him to be ambassador to China.

Barbour, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee and a well-regarded political strategist before becoming Mississippi governor, has long insisted that Republican governors would lead the party's efforts to rebuild. He reiterated that belief in an interview Tuesday, while acknowledging some of his colleagues' recent public relations challenges.

“When Democrats have majorities in Washington, Republicans there can oppose bad things and propose good things, but can't demonstrate that Republican ideas work,” Barbour said. “The reason governors are so important is that they can take our ideas, implement them and show they can work.”

In a sign that the political fortunes of Democratic governors may not be faring much better than their Republican counterparts, Barbour attended fundraisers this week for Republican gubernatorial candidates in New Jersey and Virginia.

In New Jersey, polls show former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie leading incumbent Gov. Jon Corzine, while former Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell is running a strong race against Democratic state Sen. Creigh Deeds to be the state's first Republican governor in eight years.

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