Free Republic

The conventional wisdom about Mitt Romney’s vice-presidential short list, according to a handful of Romney insiders, may be wrong. Instead of picking a straitlaced Midwestern senator such as Ohio’s Rob Portman, or an outspoken northeastern Republican governor such as Chris Christie, there is a chance Romney will tap an evangelical from the South. And the name on the lips of Romney friends and supporters isn’t a rising southern senator or a current Dixie governor. He has been out of office for five years, resides on a beach in the Florida panhandle, and hosts a television show. In other words, Mike...

Mike Huckabee has been approached by Republican and conservative activists unhappy with the current crop of presidential hopefuls and he is considering entering the fray, two sources who have spoken with Huckabee told Reuters. The former Arkansas governor, who made a splash by winning the Iowa caucuses as a candidate in 2008, announced last May on his Fox News show that he would not enter the race. But the conservative Huckabee, who appeals to evangelical Christians and is seen as an effective campaigner, is taking another look at jumping in, said the two sources, who are close to Huckabee. They...

I took a much needed break this weekend with friends and family and so I wasn’t around to blog the big news. Mike Huckabee is out of the running for the Presidential nomination. Now, I said as early as February 22nd that I was betting Huckabee wouldn’t run. So I’m happy to have a winning prediction under my belt. But besides that, this really shakes up the calculus for 2012. Iowa is now going to be wide open, and it leaves the “not Mitt Romneycare” position as one much easier to fill. The question is, who does this benefit? Palin?...

We’ve been told that former Ark. Gov. Mike Huckabee, a rumored candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, is giving his former S.C. supporters the nod to seek work on other presidential campaigns. The word is that he’s told South Carolina staffers that they have his blessing for them to peddle their wares elsewhere. If this is as true as it appears, it’s the second major shakeup. Monday, Miss. Gov. Haley Barbour surprised everyone but himself when he announced that he would not seek the GOP nod.

The network wants a yes or no on whether the governor-turned-TV host is running for the White House. But Huckabee tells Howard Kurtz he feels no pressure at all. Mike Huckabee may be running out of time to make a decision on running for president. It's not that the former Arkansas governor feels any political imperative to speed up his timetable. But his Fox News bosses would like him either to jump into the White House race soon or announce that he's taking a pass. In March, Fox suspended two contributors, Newt Gingrich and former Sen. Rick Santorum, for taking...

A new Neighborhood Research survey of likely caucus-goers shows Mike Huckabee with a solid advantage in Iowa. 1. Mike Huckabee 21.0% 2. Mitt Romney 13.5% 3. Donald Trump 8.8% 4. Newt Gingrich 7.8% 5. Sarah Palin 6.6% 6. Michele Bachmann 5.3% 7. Tim Pawlenty 4.4% 8. Ron Paul 3.4% 9. Herman Cain 2.5% 10. Rick Santorum 1.3% Big? Newt Gingrich edges out Sarah Palin. Bigger surprise? So does Trump. Also, Palin actually does worse among those who attend religious services once/week. In fact, Palin scores twice as well with those who never attend religious services than those who do. That...

Mike Huckabee won a GOP straw poll in crucial early state South Carolina, further solidifying his status as a front-runner in a 2012 field that is still taking shape. Huckabee won the York County GOP event on Saturday, snaring 23 percent of the first-pick voters, party officials confirmed to POLITICO. Newt Gingrich was second, with 11 percent, and Michele Bachmann was third at 10 percent. Mitt Romney snared 8 percent, and Donald Trump and Tim Pawlenty tied at 7 percent. A slew of other would-be candidates, including nearby Southern-state governor Haley Barbour, Sarah Palin, Rick Santorum, John Bolton, Herman Cain,...

A new poll spotlighting the faith community's outlook on the 2012 campaign shows that evangelicals have high views of Mike Huckabee and Sarah Palin, less-than-enthusiastic views of Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney, and low views of President Obama. The Barna survey is the latest round of good polling news for Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor and Southern Baptist minister who is weighing whether to run for the Republican nomination. He already has said he will not participate in the early GOP debates, set to begin this spring. The fact that he leads among evangelicals is no surprise -- he rode...

In what could be a potential giveaway to Gov. Mick Huckabee’s 2012 aspirations, Race42012 has reported that Huckabee’s presidential committee Huckabee for President, Inc has filed termination paperwork with the Federal Election Commission. Though Mike Huckabee’s political action committee HuckPAC is still an entity and has filed it’s normal year end report, this could show clear signs that Mike Huckabee has decided not to seek the office of President in 2012. However, this could also mean that Mike Huckabee is in fact gearing up for a 2012 run, with a possible re-structure of committee.

In what could be a potential giveaway to Gov. Mick Huckabee’s 2012 aspirations, Race42012 has reported that Huckabee’s presidential committee Huckabee for President, Inc has filed termination paperwork with the Federal Election Commission. Though Mike Huckabee’s political action committee HuckPAC is still an entity and has filed it’s normal year end report, this could show clear signs that Mike Huckabee has decided not to seek the office of President in 2012. However, this could also mean that Mike Huckabee is in fact gearing up for a 2012 run, with a possible re-structure of committee. I also said earlier, that if...

If Mike Huckabee runs for President, he is obviously the odds-on favorite to earn The Family Leader’s endorsement. Vander Plaats was Huckabee’s state chair for the 2008 campaign. The former Arkansas governor’s last two visits to Iowa were to raise money for the IFPC. It is hard to imagine the group endorsing anyone instead of Huckabee. Some attendees have privately suggested that Vander Plaats’ current tour is a thinly veiled campaign on behalf of Huckabee. Indeed, Vander Plaats mentions Huckabee at almost every stop. The events are frequently held in the same Pizza Ranch locations that Huckabee and BVP toured...

For the first time in PPP's national polling for the 2012 Republican nomination there's a clear leader: Mike Huckabee. Huckabee's at 24% to 14% for Sarah Palin and Mitt Romney, 11% for Newt Gingrich, 8% for Tim Pawlenty, 7% for Ron Paul, 4% for Mitch Daniels, and 1% for John Thune.

If Mike Huckabee decides to run for President again in 2012 he'll start out the same place in Iowa where he finished in 2008- first place. Huckabee leads there with 30% to 18% for Mitt Romney, 15% for Sarah Palin, 13% for Newt Gingrich, 6% for Ron Paul, 4% for Tim Pawlenty, 3% for John Thune, and 1% for Mitch Daniels.

(NewsCore) - Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee has the support of more Republicans around the country than three of his potential 2012 rivals, according to a new CNN poll released Tuesday. The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll found that 67 percent of self-identified Republicans were either “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to support his candidacy in 2012. That compared with 59 percent for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, 54 percent for former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and 49 percent for former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. It is the second recent poll to show momentum for Huckabee. A Public Policy Polling survey...

Former Arkansas Governor turned Fox News host (and now Florida resident) Mike Huckabee says he won't run for President in 2012. Well, he won't if former Florida Governor Jeb Bush decides to run. Huckebee came out of national obscurity to place second in the 2008 Republican Primary, and is widely expected to make a bid again in 2012. Which he probably will considering Jeb Bush has denied time and time again that he'll ever run for President. "Having gone through the process before and knowing just what it entails, it's not a decision I'll make lightly," Huckabee tells The National...

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee made a high-profile trek up to Iowa last Sunday to speak to a gathering of social conservatives. While being careful to stop short of an actual announcement, he sounded like a presidential candidate. In fact, just days before the event, Huckabee made sure everyone knew that his appearance in Iowa was all about politics. The group sponsoring the event — Iowa Family Policy Center — promoted Huckabee’s appearance to Iowa churches saying he was coming “not as a politician, but as a pastor.” Huckabee’s spokesman quickly put out a statement correcting this saying that Huckabee’s...

President Obama's Democratic party lost the midterm elections this week and he could very well lose his bid for a second term in 2012, according to a shocking poll released today. Obama would lose in a hypothetical race against former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee 52 percent to 44 percent, according to CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney would also defeat Obama 50 percent to 45 percent in the race for the White House in 2012.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee continued to insist on Sunday that he won’t make a decision on another presidential run until after this fall's midterm elections. “I haven’t closed the door. I think that would be foolish on my part, especially when poll after poll shows that there is strong sentiment out there. I end up leading a lot of the polls. I’m the Republican that clearly, at this point, does better against Obama than any other Republican,” said Huckabee, a Fox News contributor, on "Fox News Sunday."

Like it or not, the 2012 presidential campaign season is already underway. Right now, we're in the nascent stage of the cycle where folks are asking: Will he/she run? A new 8,300-word New Yorker profile asks that question of Mike Huckabee. Among the nuggets in the piece (some of which we had already heard): -- Huckabee is now registered to vote in Florida, not his native Arkansas -- He has gained weight since his '08 campaign days, though he doesn't weigh the 300-odd pounds he once weighed -- Former McCain campaign manager Steve Schmidt says some VERY nice things about...

Oh, Yes, the Huckster is Running And he gets a tongue-bath to start the campaign. Sorry for the graphic imagery first thing in the morning, but there's nothing else to call this profile in the New Yorker. Read it for yourself, but here are the takeaways. First, he's running in 2012. Evidence? He just bought a house in Florida and he's lining up 8,000 word "Meet the Candidate" pieces in the New Yorker that cast him as "the wayward Republican" "best hope" for the GOP. Don't be a fool. Second, most importantly for consideration when it comes to your primary...