The Washington Post reports that former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's surge in Iowa, which holds its caucuses in about five and a half weeks, "has further scrambled a race that already defied easy prediction."
Huckabee really began drawing attention as a candidate when he finished second in the Iowa straw poll back in August, despite making a minimal financial investment and earning, through his oratorical skill, the support of people who attended the event on Mitt Romney's dimes.
Christian conservatives are the key for Huckabee. If his campaign staff can get them to the caucuses in Iowa and produce a win, their hope is that it will create a groundswell that will carry them in New Hampshire and South Carolina and then translate into big victories in February when most of the big states hold their primaries.
Money has been coming in at a faster clip for Huckabee now that he's rising in the polls and getting more press attention. But he still trails Romney and other high-profile candidates in that department.
His success will depend, in part, on energizing his base, the evangelical Christians.
In the words of Christian conservative radio personality Steve Deace, "The most loyal and largest voting bloc the Republican Party has are pro-life voters . . . marriage issues, family issues. Those are issues of priority for us. Mike, by far -- and it's not even close -- has the most consistently positive positions."
The Post quotes Deace as urging big-name Christian conservative leaders to "stop playing games" and get behind Huckabee. "If we rally around him, he could win. Maybe you're like me. I'm tired of plugging my nose and voting for someone."
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4 comments:
One other factor is working to Huckabee's advantage - he has the best-managed campaign in the GOP. It is well-suited to his style, and it is highly cost-effective compared to the other candidates. Good campaign management has separated Huckabee from the other dark-horse candidates.
In contrast, Fred Thompson's campaign is being poorly managed. His advance team is not doing a good job organizing events, and his speech writers are not taking advantage of his natural abilities as a speaker. This was evident in the video of the meeting where he had to ask the audience for a round of applause for himself.
Good points, Doug.
Thompson also suffers from entering the race much later than his opponents. Had he entered back in the spring, Romney's campaign probably never would have gotten much footing.
Good campaign management isn't the only thing that separates Huckabee from the others -- but it's certainly an important aspect.
In politics, probably moreso than any other area of life, timing is everything.
If the democrats can't beat anyone in this field they should fold as a party.
I agree with you, Kyle.
This is the weakest Republican field I've seen in my lifetime.
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