The former Arkansas governor and recent Fox News TV personality was in Nashua, NH this weekend for the Republican Leadership Summit. Mike Huckabee announced that he will officially announce that he is running for president on May 5th in Hope, Arkansas. Huckabee’s campaign went fairly well in 2008. He won the Iowa Caucus, came in third in the New Hampshire Primary, and he won several southern primaries; but his campaign lost momentum due to limited funds. He believes that he is in a better position financially this time around. He quipped that he doesn’t have the same Rolodex file as the Bushes; but, unlike the federal government, he knows how to be frugal with his campaign money. Huckabee was also happy to announce that he still has the support of action star, Chuck Norris. Even though has been out of office since 2007, Governor Huckabee has maintained contact with the voters through his radio show which ran from 2012-2013 and his TV show which ran from 2008-2015.
Huckabee points to a record of success as governor of Arkansas to separate himself from the rest of the crowded field of Republican candidates. He was able to win 49% of African-American voters in Arkansas. He has first hand experience defeating the Clintons and the Clinton Machine. As governor he was able to work with the opposition. The state of Arkansas was dominated by the Democrats. The Assembly was 89-11 Democrat and the Senate was 31-4 Democrat, but he was able to get 90% of his legislation passed.
To revitalize a sense of “American Exceptionalism,” President Huckabee’s first step would be to improve and rebuild our military which has fallen to pre-World War II levels of readiness due to budget cuts. He believes that you have to stand up to bullies like Putin and ISIS.
