Huckabee Gains Momentum
November 2, 2007
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee hasn’t raised a quarter of the campaign funds his closest competitors have, yet he came in second behind Mitt Romney in the Iowa straw poll. Over the last two weeks many circles have started calling him the dark horse of the GOP race.
An ordained Baptist minister, Governor Huckabee started gaining momentum in debates and public interviews over the course of the last month, displaying a candor and sense of humor that many were not expecting to see in this presidential race. When asked by CBS News about coming short of his competitors’ fundraising achievements, he replied, “I think it is not so much about how little we have raised, but how well we have done with what we have. More importantly, we have seen just an explosion of fundraising in the last two weeks. We have had to upgrade our web server three times in a six day period.”
Mr. Huckabee has received some skepticism for not starting his campaign earlier. He responded by saying that he was “not the least bit sorry,” and that the reason for the delay was because he did not want to neglect his duties as governor. Now that his term is over, he’s hitting the trail hard, including interviews with the New York Times and Fox News.
The former governor has also been criticized by some on the right, who argue that he is not a true fiscal conservative. His reply to these criticisms has been to argue that a renovation of the nation’s overall tax policy and building consumer confidence is more important than specific tax cuts or hikes.
Far from acting troubled, Mr. Huckabee seems to believe that receiving criticism is a good sign: “Suddenly, I’m in the crosshairs,” he said. “A good hunter never aims his gun at a dead carcass.”
