Posted on 11/20/2007 9:16:04 PM PST by dano1
Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, buoyed by strong support from Christian conservatives, has surged past three of his better-known presidential rivals and is now challenging former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney for the lead in the Iowa Republican caucuses, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
Huckabee has tripled his support in Iowa since late July,
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His support in Iowa appears stronger and more enthusiastic than that of his rivals.
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The poll found that overall, 28 percent of likely GOP caucus-goers support Romney, while 24 percent support Huckabee. Thompson ran third in the poll at 15 percent, with Giuliani at about the same level, with 13 percent. McCain, whose Iowa campaign appeared to derail earlier this year over his stance on immigration, had 6 percent and was tied with Rep. Ron Paul (Tex.), ...
Huckabee's gains were concentrated among the party's conservative core. He saw a 28-percentage-point jump in support from evangelical Protestants, to 44 percent, and a 19-point rise among conservatives, to 30 percent. Among previous caucus attendees, his support increased from 9 percent to 29 percent.
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But almost half of Huckabee's supporters (48 percent) said they would definitely vote for him in January and only a quarter said there was a good chance that they would change their minds before the caucuses. In contrast, just 29 percent of Romney's backers said they would definitely vote for him, while 42 percent said there was a good chance that they could vote for someone else at the caucuses.
The enthusiasm among Huckabee supporters was striking, particularly in a year in which Republicans have been considerably dissatisfied with the field of candidates. Half of those who now back the former Arkansas governor said they are very enthusiastic about him, compared with 28 percent of Romney's backers.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Paul has the crazy vote locked up and there are a lot of crazys out there.
Who is really promoting these guys. It sure isn’t the conservatives. And why are they being promoted?
I think that there is a growing divide amongst two groups of Republicans - I call them the secular and Christian conservatives. What seperates them is their priorities. The true social conservatives make those issues their top voting issue - all others fail in comparison. They will vote for a pro-life socialist over a pro-choice conservative - every time. To these voters, their vote is a morality issue and voting against those morals is a sin. This is why Guiliani is so repugnant to them. Questions circling McCain, Romney and Thompson’s past in regards to these issues create enough doubt so as to withold support. Enter Mike Huckabee. Also, I disagree with those who believe Huck’s being Rudy’s VP would help him out - true social conservatives will still stay home.
The secular conservatives have a principled position, but the priorities have more to do with issues such as national security, immigration and tax policy. The issue of life is more one to do with constitutionality than morality. These voters feel jipped by Bush and want a constitutional conservative (limited government, lower taxes, lower spending, etc ....) and Huckabee has a lot of questions about his purity to these ideals in his past.
The problem is this: social and fiscal conservatives were able to form a coalition from 1994 to 2006 that governed nationally. Neither side can win without the other. What I am hearing is that if Rudy gets the nomination, there will be a third party pro-life candidacy. Some Freepers are stating that a Huckabee nomination would lead to a constitutional conservative third party candidacy. Both scenarios get us Hillary. How do we avoid that?
We avoid that by nominating Fred D. Thompson. Thompson is the ONLY candidate that can really bring these two streams together. Hunter could, if he were viable. Romney can't because he's see by too many people (like me, for example) as a person of malleable principles.
I don’t see Thompson as anything more than a flash in the pan - plus his lobbyist past worries me. I think his candidacy looks better on paper than in reality. He is not that dynamic a campaigner.
By the way - the Dems are catching on to this schism. They took back a few southern House seats with guys like Heath Schuler (pro-life democrat). If they tap into this, it will be the death of Republicanism.
Fantastic news. Huckabee is a true and devout Christian, the only one among the top five. He has my vote, for sure. It amazes and disappoints me that more people who claim to represent Christianity (Robertson, BJU, etc.) aren’t whole-heartedly endorsing him.
I agree with you and think that Robertson and Jones have left their core principles for expediency. Why do you think so many conservatives have such an issue with Mike?
See my post #7
Thompson’s the best of the crop this time around.
I don’t hold his lobbying activites against him. I accept his explanation. With the government as hugely intrusive and expansive as it is, getting into everyone’s business, businesses, groups and individuals MUST engage with the government or be run roughshod over. This is true in spades when the Democrats are in power, but the Republicans are perfectly capable of very egregious depradations with no help from downstairs.
That's because many Christians are also actual CONSERVATIVES.
How do you know Hunter and Fred, solid conservatives, aren't devout Christians? How can you possible know that? Fred has maintained his conservative pro life voting record and did it while working in Hollywood. You must have some pretty good core values to maintain them there.
“Why do you think so many conservatives have such an issue with Mike?”
Because he’s a nanny-state Gore-bot soft-headed Liberal!
I don’t trust Romney, but I’d prefer even him to Huckabee.
If both major parties wind up running nanny=state Gore-bot soft-headed Liberal candidates, America is in deep trouble.
Huckabee might get the support of evangelical Christians, but he sure won’t get the support of the rest of us. I for one will not vote for the man in a general election against Hillary. Just don’t see that much difference between the two on social issues (except abortion, which is more of a moral issue). If evangelical Christians continue to screw up the Republican party by putting their religious preferences before what is best for the country, I will not stand with them in their choices.
IMHO, there's no way Huckabee would run as a third party.
I doubt Paul would either. In Paul's case however, I wonder if it would make much difference anyway since I suspect Ron Paul might draw equally from the Democrat and Republican fringes, thus offsetting his own impact to either party if he did try to make a third party run. However I think Paul has said he won't run for a third party.
The internal of this story is that Romney, for all the cash he has spread around, is GOING NO WHERE.
But almost half of Huckabee's supporters (48 percent) said they would definitely vote for him in January and only a quarter said there was a good chance that they would change their minds before the caucuses. In contrast, just 29 percent of Romney's backers said they would definitely vote for him, while 42 percent said there was a good chance that they could vote for someone else at the caucuses.
The enthusiasm among Huckabee supporters was striking, particularly in a year in which Republicans have been considerably dissatisfied with the field of candidates. Half of those who now back the former Arkansas governor said they are very enthusiastic about him, compared with 28 percent of Romney's backers.
Nearly seven in 10 of his backers are evangelical Protestants, and nearly three-quarters attend religious services at least weekly. Just 5 percent of moderate and liberal GOP voters back his candidacy. Romney, by contrast, has wider support.
It is also primarily social issues that galvanize Huckabee's backers.
More than four in 10 Huckabee voters call abortion or broader moral or values issues the race's top one or two concerns. That is nearly double the number of Romney supporters to highlight these issues. Overall, three-quarters of likely GOP voters think that abortion should be illegal in most or all cases, and among the 24 percent who want the procedure to be unlawful in every instance, 36 percent support Huckabee and 22 percent Romney.
Huckabee is:
1) very pro-amnesty for illegal aliens
2) super nanny-stater, wants to control who can eat and smoke what, when, and where. Big brother.
For me, no thanks, Huck!!!
This is coming from the Washington Post-ABC News so I’d take it with a grain of salt for now. Other more reliable polls don’t have the illegal alien panderer quite so close in Iowa and in other primary states like New Hampshire he’s far behind the pack.
Iowa: Romney 29% Huckabee 16% Giuliani 15%
According to Rasmussen as of 5 days ago Romney is far ahead of Huckabee and they claim the lead is widening.
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