LaBauve had political aspirations and was a vocal supporter of Democratic philosophy, he joined the Hernando town council in 1839. In the same year 1839, he founded the newspaper the DeSoto Times Tribune (formerly The Hernando Free Press and States Rights Democrat) in the city of Hernando, Mississippi. In 1841, he had launched another county newspaper, The Phenix (sometimes written as The Phoenix, and known as Peoples Press by 1859). By 1859, the DeSoto Times Tribune closed due to financial issues; however it has been considered a forerunner to the DeSoto Times–Tribune which is still in print.
