Congress In early 1993, newly-inaugurated President Bill Clinton appointed 22-year incumbent congressman Les Aspin as United States Secretary of Defense. Aspin therefore had to resign his seat in Wisconsin's 1st congressional district and a special election was called to fill the balance of his term in the 103rd United States Congress. Barca narrowly won a competitive Democratic Primary election, fending off fellow State Assemblymembers Jeffrey A. Neubauer of Racine and Wayne W. Wood of Janesville. In the general election, Barca faced Republican Mark Neumann, who had been Aspin's opponent in November 1992. Barca won by only 675 votes, mainly due to a weak showing in Racine. Neumann, in turn, defeated Barca in the regular 1994 election 17 months later. Post-Congressional career After Barca narrowly lost his re-election bid, President Clinton appointed him to serve as Midwest Regional Administrator to the U.S. Small Business Administration. He also served as National Ombudsman to the SBA. Barca was also leader of the National Regulatory Fairness Program, an initiative which included more than fifty company presidents throughout the country aimed at making regulatory enforcement small business friendly. He later went on to become Vice President and then President of Aurora Associates International, an international project management company. Return to politics In November 2008, after a 14-year absence, Barca was elected to represent the 64th District once again. He was again chosen to be Majority Caucus Chairperson, and served as co-chair of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, and chair of the Partnership for a Stronger Economy. As chair of the Partnership for a Stronger Economy, Barca traveled the state meeting with various small businesses owners and economic development professionals to craft an economic plan for Wisconsin. The Partnership led the way in helping to pass over 50 economic initiatives in the 2009–10 legislative session, including the Small Business Capital Access Program and the Entrepreneurial Assistance Grant Program, both authored by Barca. In the 2010 midterm elections, Republicans won complete control of government in Wisconsin. Following the election, Barca was elected by his colleagues to serve as Assembly Democratic Leader in the 100th Wisconsin Legislative Session. He remained leader of the Democratic minority until September 2017, when he stepped down to focus more attention on his own constituency. In the 2011 legislative session, Barca rose to national prominence as a leader in the struggle against Governor Scott Walker's proposed changes to collective bargaining in Wisconsin. Barca