ATLANTA — So far, John Barrow’s campaign for another term in Congress hasn’t been very visible in Georgia’s 12th District that’s anchored by Augusta, and an aide to GOP challenger Rick Allen says the lack of activity proves Barrow is out of touch.
Barrow has been winning as a Democrat in a Republican-leaning district for 10 years, and he’s banking on a strategy that’s worked for him so far. That boils down to concentrating on fundraising and congressional business until after the U.S. House takes its August recess which has him sprinting across the 14-county district for a series of official events.
He hosts the deputy secretary of agriculture Friday to tour farms and meet with producers in Vidalia, Dublin and Waynesboro. Later, he holds job fairs in Augusta and Statesboro, a workshop on applying for Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster grants for those impacted by winter storms, and a separate workshop for small-business owners.
“The voters in the 12th District elected Congressman Barrow to do a job. There will be a time and a place for campaigning this fall, but for now, he’s working to meet with folks throughout the district and hosting a number of events to help residents of the area,” said Barrow’s spokesman Richard Carbo.
Allen’s spokesman Dan McLagan says Barrow’s approach raises a few questions. For instance, the congressman pays some of his Washington-based congressional staffers to perform campaign tasks also. Carbo, for instance was speaking on behalf of the congressional office Monday but will transition to the re-election payroll once Barrow begins campaigning in earnest. Another aide, Ashley Jones, got $32,000 in fundraising-consultant fees from his campaign in addition to $38,000 in taxpayer funds that quarter as his long-time congressional chief of staff.
McLagan says the fact that Barrow doesn’t have a big campaign staff in Georgia shows he’s more interested in Washington than Georgia.
“John Barrow has been sipping mimosas with his pinky extended to his lobbyist buddies in Washington for more than a decade now — he’s gone native,” McLagan said. “He’s got a million dollar house up there, has his campaign office and staff there and probably hates sullying himself with us great unwashed and the red clay of Georgia when he has to campaign here.”
The campaign-expense reports on file with the Federal Elections Commission show expenditures for out-of-state consultants and vendors and practically no Georgia staff or even office rent. However, the next report will show a campaign office opened last month in Augusta and a team of field representatives canvasing for votes, according to Carbo.
“Just as he always does, Congressman Barrow will run his campaign from his hometown of Augusta,” he said.
Barrow and his congressional staff closely follow guidelines from the House Ethics Committee to ensure his re-election doesn’t benefit from any taxpayer funds, Carbo said. Those rules permit congressional staffers to campaign on “their own time” and outside government offices.
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