Rex Nelson received a BA in Mass Communications from Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, in 1982. He went on to spend four years as the Washington Bureau Chief for the Arkansas Democrat newspaper. He was also the editor of Arkansas Business; the Political Editor of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, from July 1992 to July 1996; the host of a daily political talk radio show; and campaign manager and Director of Policy and Communications for Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. In 2007 Nelson contributed to the Huckabee for President campaign. In August 2005, President Bush appointed Nelson co-chairman of the Delta Regional Authority.