President 2008: Mike Huckabee’s Baptism Versus Mitt Romney’s Mormon
RUDY Giuliani could have a couple of problems on his hands.
While millionaire Mitt Romney buys his way to the White House on one side, the New York Sun points out that a dark horse social conservative has emerged on Giuliani’s flank.
That outsider is former Governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee, who has come from nowhere to tie Rudy Giuliani for second place in the latest Iowa poll, a crucial early state in the presidential primaries.
The University of Iowa Hawkeye Poll shows Huckabee (12.8 percent) and Giuliani (13.1 percent) statistically tied, while Romney sits way out front with 36.2 percent. Huckabee polled just 1.8 percent in a similar poll in August.
His surge is impressive considering Huckabee has spent just $1.7 million on his campaign so far, compared to Romney, who has spent $53.6 million, and Giuliani, who has spent $30.6 million.
Huckabee is one of the few Republican candidates who appeals to social conservatives. He is an ordained Southern Baptist minister. And he attracted more than half the votes of delegates to a recent Values Voter summit in Washington.
He is tough on immigration and tough on corporate pay. And he has the added advantage of being able to boast that he has fought the Clintons in their Arkansas backyard. Yesterday he told politico.com that he had beaten the “Clinton political machine” four times.
Nationally, Giuliani still leads the Republican pack with 20 percent in the polls. Fred Thompson and John McCain follow with 19 percent and 14 percent respectively.
But it’s Huckabee and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney who appear to be gaining all the traction. Watch this space.
Posted: 30th, October 2007 | In: Politicians Comments (10) | TrackBack | Permalink
