Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said Sunday he would make a strong Republican opponent to Democratic frontrunner and former Arkansas first lady Hillary Clinton in a race for the presidency.
Huckabee said his nomination would set up a sharp contrast between the two and energize voters toward the Republican ticket. Conservatives are wrong to assume someone more like Clinton could draw more votes and defeat her, he said on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.”
Hailing from the same Arkansas town of Hope as former President Bill Clinton, Huckabee has served more than 10 years as governor.
“Hillary is a strong, strong candidate, much stronger than a lot of Republicans want to accept,” Huckabee said. “But the reality is that if we put someone up whose views on some of the issues don’t rally our base, then we’re going to be in big trouble.”
Huckabee is now ahead of Sen. McCain in Iowa and nearly tied with former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, according to a Sept. 29 Newsweek poll.
“Our goal is to stay competitive-and we will be,” said Huckabee.
Since August, the campaign has seen an increase in Website hits, online donations, and volunteer support (including more than 250 bloggers), and scores of major fundraising opportunities.
“The campaign has been flooded with generous offers of support since Iowa, including nearly 10,000 new donors,” said campaign manager Chip Saltsman.
Saltsman confirmed that the campaign will report just over $1 million raised to the Federal Election Commission on Oct. 15.
“While we’d like to show more dollars in the bank, we’ve been careful with our resources, and we’ll have what we need to stay in the game,” he said. “The third quarter is typically considered to be the ‘dry season,’ but we’re pleased to show a successful, steady increase in terms of fund-raising that will sustain us.”
Huckabee is in an unusual situation for a politician; he doesn’t have to pander to his base. A former Southern Baptist preacher, he starts his 2008 presidential bid well to the right of his party’s most serious contenders.
His long-held pro-life, pro-gun, and anti-gay marriage agenda should be music to the ears of conservatives unhappy with social-issue moderates like John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, and (until recently) Mitt Romney.
So why isn’t the former governor of Arkansas, stuck around two percent in recent polls, catching fire among religious conservatives?
Huckabee has a plan to fix that.
“I’m taking the presidential campaign very seriously, as evidenced by the wear and tear on my body over the last few months,” said Huckabee, an avid runner who has competed in four marathons.
Aside from politics, his most impressive accomplishment has been losing 110 lbs. and becoming a marathon runner.