Is Huckabee A Factor On Super Tuesday?

CBSNews.com Reports: Iowa Winner's Eroding Support Prevents Him From Playing Spoiler Role In GOP Race

(CBS)  This story was written by CBSNews.com political reporter David Miller.

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In the race for the Republican nomination, Super Tuesday is largely a showdown between front-runner John McCain and Mitt Romney, who is trying to pull off an upset by rallying the party’s conservative base.

Notably absent from this scenario is former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, even though about a month ago he was riding high from a comfortable victory in the Iowa caucuses and was contending for the lead in many national polls.

But since then, while Huckabee’s campaign has endured no major gaffes, his role in the overall race has slowly been minimized, taking him from contender, to spoiler, to today, when few outside his own campaign believe he’ll be a factor in Tuesday’s outcome or beyond.

“He won't have a significant impact in most states,” said longtime GOP strategist Eddie Mahe. “I think he has a constituency in four or five of the states where that will come into play. There's a couple more of the southern states where he’ll have some support. I question whether that support is going to go beyond that because he's not present in the news, in the paid media.”

While Huckabee’s own campaign sounds far more optimistic in their assessment of the road ahead, even they are unwilling to tout their chances beyond the Bible Belt - the region of the South with a large population of socially conservative evangelical Christian voters, the same kind of voters who lifted Huckabee to victory in Iowa.

“We're in the race because we’re doing well in the early states, especially across the Bible Belt and we're in the race because we expect to win,” Huckabee spokeswoman Alice Stewart said. “Everyone's always said we weren't going to get through Iowa and we did. The money's coming in, the momentum's growing and we expect that to continue on Super Tuesday.”

Stewart said Huckabee continues to attract large crowds at his events and e-mails from supporters indicate his base is still strongly committed to his candidacy. But a broader look at the campaign, particularly the outcome in Florida’s Jan. 29 primary, in which Huckabee placed a distant third, indicates he has little hope of igniting a comeback on Super Tuesday or even keeping another candidate from securing the nomination.

His chief problem may be that evangelical Christian voters are no longer supporting him as a singular voting bloc. In CBS News exit polling of Florida primary voters, Huckabee, McCain and Romney were nearly tied among self-described evangelical voters. In fact, the only demographic group Huckabee clearly won were the 17 percent of voters who attended church more than once a week - but even among them, he did not win a majority.

It also appears unlikely that Huckabee could be a spoiler on Tuesday by siphoning socially conservative voters from Romney. The Florida exit polling showed that more than half of Huckabee voters said they’d back McCain if Huckabee weren’t on the ballot, even though the Arizona senator has never made issues like abortion and gay marriage a priority of his campaign and favors federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research.

If Huckabee’s presence in the race is holding anyone back, it’s McCain, said GOP pollster Tony Fabrizio.

“If Huckabee was out of the race it may only increase McCain’s margin,” he said. “Whereas if Romney were out of the race, it would leave things where it is.”

The candidates’ schedules illustrate that point further. While McCain has visited every region of the country, Huckabee is campaigning almost entirely in the southern states of Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Missouri and his native Arkansas. Those states are mostly absent from those being visited by Romney, his wife, Ann, and his five sons in the days leading up to Feb. 5 - their schedule is focused on northern plain states, the Mountain West and California.

Romney is largely ceding the South to McCain and Huckabee, Mahe said, because voters there are still wary of his Mormon faith - even with Huckabee out of the race, he would be unlikely to win their support.

“Mormonism is just a significant barrier to a lot of those people,” he said, referring to southern conservatives. “I don't think Huckabee’s staying in the South impacts Romney particularly.”

While Romney’s campaign believes the candidate has largely addressed the subject of his faith, they’re among those who see the race as a two-man contest, believing that the outcome in Florida made many disregard Huckabee as a viable option.

“As far as Gov. Huckabee goes, I think it's very clear to Republican voters that this has come down to a two-man race, a choice between Gov. Romney and John McCain to lead the party and that's beginning to crystallize among voters and I think Gov. Huckabee will have less and less an influence over the course of the week,” Romney spokesman Kevin Madden said.

But regardless of the rationale in voters’ minds, the result is a contest where Huckabee may be nothing more than a regional candidate who doesn’t present a serious problem for either McCain or Romney - especially among the largest states up for grabs on Tuesday, all of which are outside the South and have gone mostly ignored by Huckabee.

“I think in the larger states like New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, California, and Illinois, I think McCain's likely margin is going to be greater than, say, what Huckabee is going to do,” Fabrizio said.

In those states, where evangelical Christians are far less influential than the South, Huckabee has been crippled by his populist views on economic policy and his criticisms of President Bush’s foreign policy - both of which run counter to opinions strongly held by most conservative voters, Mahe said.

“He's pro-life,” he said. “Beyond that there's no definition of conservative I'm aware of that he fits.”

[starleo146]

Let me ask after Super Tuesday do you feel good? When I see how people vote I almost wonder where have they been the last 7 years in oblivion somewhere. Huckabee had anyone considered beside being a Baptist with no theological degree, that his lack of knowledge of the complex problems facing this country . The South with all there Southern Baptist roots it is unbelievable how there religion controls there vote like he is the Savior of all that is bad never mind what might he do with the knowledge he has for national security his knowledge on how to fix this recession he has no idea he is just a preacher let him be president of the Southern Baptist Assc. and leave your votes for there. Wake Up wasn''t Bush enough for you. We are destroying this country with your far right vote.

[jonesforch]

Wow. Huckabee sold his soul to MaCain.. makes you wonder where the votes will really go?

[giantrobot2]

Conservative leaders Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family and Tony Perkins of FRC are endorsing Mike Huckabee for President in the huge value voters guide that I received last night from them.

Huckabee scores 100% in the value voter guide they issued while Romney''s liberal views are still showing through on abortion, human cloning, watering down the Federal Marriage act of 1996 and giving the government authorization to take any American''s property if they choose so.

Dr. James Dobson and Tony Perkins and many other huge National Right to Life groups are supporting Mike Huckabee for President.

Don''t let the Republican party fall in the trap of liberals. The Republican platform can not be water down with Romney''s liberal agenda.

If Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family and Tony Perkins of FRC are endorsing Mike Huckabee, and with the million member supporters they have through the last 20 years, the conservatives are rallying around Huckabee for true conservative values.

[arminsight]

Let''s beware of spinning the facts here...
opposition candidates to Huckabee are trying to sway you that he''s not a conservative ~ get real ~ pro-life without compromising when gay agenda politics pressures, as in Massachusetts ~ supports fair tax ~ stopping government spending on IRS infrastructure & management ~ supporting victory in Iraq ~ are you listening or just interested in spewing misinformation to ''better'' your candidate''s position?

[arminsight]

Let''s beware of spinning the facts here...
opposition candidates to Huckabee are trying to sway you that he''s not a conservative ~ get real ~ pro-life without compromising when gay agenda politics pressures, as in Massachusetts ~ fair tax ~ stopping government spending on IRS infrastructure & management ~ supporting victory in Iraq ~ are you listening?

[arminsight]

Let''s beware of spinning the facts here...
opposition candidates to Huckabee are trying to sway you that he''s not a conservative ~ get real ~ pro-life without compromising when gay agenda politics pressures, as in Massachusetts ~ fair tax ~ stopping government spending on IRS infrastructure & management ~ supporting victory in Iraq ~ are you listening?

[jbrewster7]

The fact is, Mike Huckabee is on the defense and wants to take the attention off of his liberal record as the governor of Arkansas.

[jbrewster7]

MIKE HUCKABEE SOFT ON CRIME SOFT ON TERRORISM

FACT: Mike Huckabee joined Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in declaring his opposition to the interrogation procedure known as "waterboarding," and said he would support closing the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and moving the Guantanamo prisoners to the military''''s only maximum-security prison, Fort Leavenworth in Kansas. This move would grant habeas corpus rights to "enemy combatants." (Source: Washington Post, Huckabee Chafes at ''''Front-Runner'''' Label, Perry Bacon Jr. 12/4/07)

FACT: Mike Huckabee granted 1,033 pardons and commutations, including 12 convicted murderers, one of which "Wayne DuMond" shortly after his release moved to Missouri where he raped and murdered Carol Sue Shields. He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in Clay County, Mo., in 2003. He died in prison in 2005. (Source: The Leader, Arkansas clemencies outpace other states, Garrick Feldman, 2004)

[jbrewster7]

MIKE HUCKABEE IS A DISHONEST THIEF

FACT: Mike Huckabee stole over $70,000 worth of furniture from the Arkansas governors mansion. (Source: Arkansas Times Counting the Furniture, 12/14/06 Leslie Newell Peacock)

FACT: The ethics commission fined Huckabee $1,000 for failing to report that he paid himself $14,000 from his 1992 U.S. Senate campaign and $43,000 from his 1994 lieutenant governor''''s campaign. (Source: POLITICO, Huckabee rivals unearth ethics complaints Kenneth P. Vogel Nov 21, 2007)

FACT: Huckabee accepted more than 300 gifts worth at least $130,000, ranging from $3,700 cowboy boots to a $600 chainsaw. (Source: POLITICO, Huckabee rivals unearth ethics complaints Kenneth P. Vogel Nov 21, 2007)

FACT: Mike Huckabee set up a nonprofit entity so he could give paid ``inspirational'''''''' speeches without having to disclose the donors. (SOURCE: Bloomberg Dec 12, 2007 Margaret Carlson)

[jbrewster7]

MIKE HUCKABEE PANDERS VOTES OF ILLEGALS

FACT: During the 2001 regular session of the Arkansas Legislature, Mike Huckabee supported giving driver''''s licenses to illegal aliens. (Source Arkansas Journal, Mike Huckabee Supported Bill to Give Driver''''s Licenses to Illegal Aliens, Henry Rearden, 11/22/2007)

FACT: Mike Huckabee supported in-state higher education benefits for children of illegal immigrants. (Laura Kellams, "Senators research U.S. law on aliens," Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 1/27/05)

FACT: Mike Huckabee opposed a federal raid of 119 illegal immigrants at an Arkansas Tyson poultry plant, 107 of whom left the country either voluntarily or through deportation. (Melissa Nelson, "Huckabee Risks Political Fortunes To Denounce Immigration Raid," Associated Press, 8/5/05)

FACT: Mike Huckabee opposed a bill requiring proof of citizenship to vote in his own state. (Source CNS NEWS, Some GOP Concerned about Huckabee''''s Immigration Views, Fred Lucas, 12/04/2007)