Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour insists he won't think about a possible 2012 presidential bid until after this year's election, but he's already taking steps to build support in Iowa. Barbour mail hits Iowa

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour insists he won't think about a possible 2012 presidential bid until after this year's election, but he's already taking steps to build support in first-in-the-nation Iowa.

Barbour sent a mail piece to Iowa Republicans last week introducing himself to likely caucus-goers.


"Haley knows what it takes to succeed," reads the mailer, touting the Mississippian's tenure as chairman of the Republican National Committee during the 1994 GOP sweep, his post-Katrina leadership as governor and his current post atop the Republican Governors Associaion.

The piece encourages recipients to sign up for updates on Barbour's website, a means of building a list.

The governor is planning to raise money later this year in Iowa for GOP gubernatorial candidate Terry Branstad and, officially, the piece is aimed at only 2010.

"We can't wait until 2012 to start taking our country back," Barbour writes on the mailer. "We need to elect conservative governors and members of Congress in 2010."

Henry Barbour, the governor's nephew and an adviser, said: "It's part of our effort to energize voters going into November."