Posted on 05/21/2015 6:30:54 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
WASHINGTON (CNN) – Former Gov. Mike Huckabee, the 2008 Iowa caucuses winner, is running again for the GOP presidential nomination, but this time he’ll skip the state’s high profile straw poll.
Huckabee, who took second place in the 2007 survey, announced Thursday morning in a Des Moines Register op-ed that he won’t compete on the Iowa straw poll, instead saying that he wants to focus his resources on winning the state’s official caucus.
“I appreciate the Iowa GOP for recognizing the need for some reforms, but playing to win in the straw poll still requires a heavy concentration of staff and financial resources,” Huckabee wrote. “After consulting with many of our Iowa volunteers and supporters, as well as key activists whose opinion we value, I have decided to forgo taking part in the Iowa straw poll — or any other straw poll.”
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, a leading establishment contender, has also decided to skip the straw poll.
(Excerpt) Read more at wtma.com ...
Why play in a game you can’t win? Smart regarding the straw poll. Stupid in not being able to apply that reasoning to the whole nomination process.
Note to *uckabee: You can’t win.
I think Iowans will be skipping Huckster this time around....
He’s not a serious candidate.
Fixed it.
Somehow, there must be a lot of money and power and narcissism involved in being a presidential candidate... No matter how unlikely your chances are.
He was the Judas Goat which gave us McCain in 2008. I think he wants to do the same here on behalf of Jeb Bush or whomever the GOPe choice is going into Iowa.
It’s because he’s a stalking horse for Jeb Bush, and Bush has no shot in Iowa. His role is to siphon off Christian votes from real conservatives.
He can't win the nomination, but that's not the game he's playing.
He's trying to siphon off enough support (financial or otherwise) of social conservatives to de-emphazie that voting block for the party insider's preferred candidates' benefit. The longer he stays "viable", the more "good" he can do in that regard (and self-promote his next book and to-be-resumed FOX News show, I'm sure).
By pooh-poohing the straw poll, a poor result (which he likely would have gotten anyway) can just be dismissed because he wasn't trying to win it.
The ‘News Radio’ (Phil Hartman) tv show featured a plot line where an eccentric millionaire inexplicably ran for president despite having no interest in politics. His news director eventually figured out that he was just running for president to meet women.
Good analysis. I think you are right.
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