In 1980, ten days after his defeat for re-election as Governor of Arkansas, Bill Clinton asked Wright to come to Little Rock and help organize the campaign's records and files. Bringing only her suitcase, Wright traveled to Little Rock and began formulating Clinton's political comeback. She organized and ran Clinton's successful 1982 gubernatorial campaign, as well as his re-election campaigns in 1984 and 1986. "The New York Times" credited Wright as being "an architect of [Clinton's] rise to power in Arkansas." In 1982, Wright was appointed as chief of staff to Governor Clinton. Her duties included managing public support for Clinton's controversial education reforms. Wright resigned from her position in 1989, citing exhaustion.