Barnett not finished with McCain

Jim Barnett, the former aide to Gov. Jim Douglas, helped guide Republican presidential candidate John McCain to victory in New Hampshire earlier this week. But Barnett isn’t finished in New Hampshire.

Barnett is going to continue to help run the McCain operation there, which is in the process of being transformed to form a nerve center that will provide support for the states that vote on February 5th. That means Barnett will be working with senior staff and helping to coordinate McCain’s efforts in major states like California, New York, and New Jersey. It will maintain the 11 full-time staff members from the New Hampshire effort.

As McCain’s New Hampshire state director, Barnett ran an operation that had hundreds of volunteers. In the final four days leading up to the primary, the field operation made about 135,000 phone calls and knocked on thousands of doors.

Barnett has roots in Vermont. He grew up in Barre, returning to the state to work as Douglas’s Deputy Campaign Manager in his hard-fought 2002 race against Doug Racine. He worked as a Special Assistant to Douglas during his first term and then became the Vermont Republican Party Chair. In 2006 Mike Dennehy, McCain’s Political Director, approached Barnett and brought him on as New England Political Director and New Hampshire state director.

Barnett says that Douglas, who endorsed McCain and campaigned for him in New Hampshire earlier this week, is confident that McCain is the candidate most prepared to serve as president. Barnett says that Douglas finds McCain’s focus on fiscal conservatism and pork-barrel spending appealing.

Barnett isn’t the only McCain staffer with Vermont roots. Sara Crawford, the Arizona Senator’s New Hampshire Deputy Campaign Manager, is originally from Barre. Chris Cooper, who is a McCain New Hampshire Vice Chair, is from Rutland.