Mike Huckabee

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Revision as of 21:35, 16 January 2008 by imported>Pat Palmer (rewording statement about evangelical base; hope this makes sense)
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Mike Huckabee in Windham, NH

Mike Huckabee (born Michael Dale Huckabee, 24 August 1955), an American politician and former Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007, is a contender for the Republican Party nomination in the 2008 presidential election. Little known nationally through mid 2007, he climbed the polls steadily and won the closely watched Iowa caucus on Jan. 3, 2008. He appears to have a great deal of support from evangelical Christians, who comprise 35% of the GOP voters.[1] He has been attacked as a tax-and-spend liberal, especially by rival Fred Thompson.[2].His funding base is meager, but national polls put him in first or second place, with John McCain, his main rival.

current national polls

Huckabee is the author of health books featuring his exercie and weight-loss exercise program, and bass guitar player for his rock band, Capitol Offense. Before he entered politics he was formerly a minister in Southern Baptist churches in Arkansas.

Early Career

Huckabee was born and raised in Hope, Arkansas into a working class family. He did not overlap with Bill Clinton (1946- ) who was also born in Hope but left as a small child. Huckabee in his early teens became a radio announcer and preacher. He attended nearby Oachita Baptist College (BA 1975), and studied theology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Dallas, Texas (1976-80, no degree.) He was minister at Baptist churches in Pine Bluff and Texarkana, Arkansas in the 1980s, gaining fame for his preaching style and for his religious shows on television. He was elected in 1989 as president of the Arkansas Baptist Convention, with 490,000 members; he was elected as a moderate in opposition to the hardline conservatives.

Governor

Family

Huckabee is married to Janet (née McCain) and has three children.

Bibliography

  • Barone, Michael, and Richard E, Cohen. Almanac of American Politics: 2006 (2005)

notes

  1. . Evangelicals comprise 48%-68% of Republicans in the South and border states, 47% in Iowa, and only 11% in New Hampshire. Andrew Kohut, "The G.O.P.’s Unanswered Question," New York Times Jan. 11, 2008
  2. See criticism reported by Jennifer Rubin, "Romney and Huckabee: Club for Growth Comparisons," from Human Events Aug. 24, 2007