Barbour, who has made millions lobbying for large corporations such as Microsoft and R. J. Reynolds, has been urging Republicans to pass comprehensive immigration reform since November 2012, just days after the GOP’s disastrous electoral defeat. Barbour is also a co-chairman of the Immigration Task Force at the Bipartisan Policy Center, which supports Gang of Eight–style reform. According to GOP congressional staffers, Barbour has been one of the most aggressive behind-the-scenes lobbyists for comprehensive reform, even reaching out to the Gang of Eight’s most ardent opponents.

But to those who want the Republican party to adopt a more populist message that distinguishes between pro-business and pro-free-market policies, Barbour is a fitting embodiment of the nexus between big business and K Street — the sort of crony capitalism that the GOP should be working to erode rather than foster.

As governor, Barbour helped his good friend and business partner Terry McAuliffe, who was recently elected Democratic governor of Virginia, secure a multimillion-dollar incentive package for his electric-car company, GreenTech Automotive, to set up shop in Mississippi. The firm has since been tarnished by controversy, specifically over efforts to raise capital via the federal government’s EB-5 visa program, which allows foreign nationals to obtain U.S. residency status in exchange for investing in businesses here.

As for Barbour himself, his “rank favoritism and special-interest deals” have raised the ire of libertarian populists such as Tim Carney of the Washington Examiner. Barbour’s political positions often suggest an unquestioning deference to business interests. He has expressed support for taxpayer-funded farm subsidies, many of which date back to the New Deal, and as governor he vetoed a popular eminent-domain-reform bill after promising Toyota he would use eminent domain to seize land for a facility the car company was planning to build in Mississippi. He has since become a formal lobbyist for Toyota.