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His coalition of evangelicals could be broken up by new alternatives like Ted Cruz.Mike Huckabee loyalists still believe their guy was screwed in 2008. After pulling off an impressive upset of the better-funded Mitt Romney in the Iowa presidential caucuses, the former Arkansas governor eyed a second Republican primary win in South Carolina. His allies are convinced the Palmetto State should’ve been his for the taking – if not for the peculiar, lethargic candidacy of former Sen. Fred Thompson, a friend of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who siphoned conservative voters from Huckabee in South Carolina. Thompson’s 16 percent slice of...

Democrats would be mistaken to underestimate Mike Huckabee, perhaps the strongest Republican presidential contender. I like Mike Huckabee. A lot. He’s simply a fun, funny, principled, appealing guy. Whether or not I think he’d make a good president (and I don’t), he would definitely make a great presidential candidate. And that should have Democrats scared. During my time at Fox News, I appeared on Gov. Huckabee’s show a handful of times. We always had fiery but friendly exchanges. And behind the scenes, even more than in front of the camera, Gov. Huckabee was always affable and downright, double-me-over funny. He’s...

Aaron is much more conciliatory toward, and much less overtly terrified at the thought of a Mike Huckabee Presidential campaign. I do not share his remarkable confidence that our esteemed electorate will not happily embrace the guitar-toting Southern progressive with what is left of their hearts and minds after a long and arduous primary season. People, let's be real. Mike Huckabee, and Rick Santorum for that matter, aren't really Republicans. I mean, as a RINO heathen, I can obviously spot another of my species, and these two are it, though, while I'm teetering on the edge of full social anarchy,...

With the departure of Mike Huckabee, so goes Fox’s most deliciously hokey program. The former Republican Governor of Arkansas announced Saturday that he will end his weekly show to mull another presidential run. Gone are the cringe-worthy “If Hee Haw and the Family Research Council had a baby“-like moments; the surreal musical performances; the televangelical prosthelytizing on a constantly-doomed American culture; and the smarmy warnings that God is fed up with us all. We’ll also never again get the chance to hear a Fox News host deliver this sort of brilliantly awful one-liner: “I’m beginning to think theres more freedom...

As a regular presence on the Fox News Channel for six years, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, 59, hasn’t exactly been hiding in the political shadows. Though he didn’t vie for the presidency in 2012, he’s been regularly airing his conservative and evangelical views on his top-rated weekend show, Huckabee. An outspoken opponent of abortion and gay marriage, this “man of deep faith,” as he calls himself, has also been a presence on weekday radio. Now the ordained Southern Baptist minister is leaving the media lights to consider a possible run for the GOP nomination for the White House in...

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's (R) announcement Saturday that he is leaving Fox News as he considers running for president again has regnited an old feud between himself and the conservative Club for Growth -- a spat that dates back nearly a decade. “In a year in which GOP voters appear likely to have several good pro-economic growth candidates to choose from, Mike Huckabee’s big government record would stand out from the crowd, and not in a good way," said Club for Growth president David McIntosh in a statement Monday. Huckabee, a strong retail campaigner with a loyal evangelical Christian...

Mike Huckabee is going to put down his bass and walk away from his lucrative Fox News show to at least contemplate a run for the presidency.The former Arkansas governor should be taken seriously, even if he faces an uphill battle to win the Republican nomination against opponents with superior fundraising and organization.Huckabee already exceeded expectations in his first presidential campaign back in 2008. He started as a lower-tiered candidate while pro-choice, pro-civil unions Rudy Giuliani led in all the national polls—which might tell you something about the reliability of name ID-based early polling.Giuliani didn’t win a single primary, while...

There was a time when I thought that Mike Huckabee had a chance to win over enough “somewhat conservative” voters that, when added to his pre-existing base among conservative white evangelicals, would give him a good chance to win the 2016 Republican nomination. I don’t think that chance exists anymore (if it ever did). He hasn’t done any of the maneuvering he would need to do in order to expand his base of support. Thirteen months is not a long time and he has shown no inclination to make the moves he would need to make in order to expand...

There’s no doubt the Huck will need bucks if he’s going to make a successful run for the GOP nomination, but that’s not the only challenge he faces.Last night, Mike Huckabee bid adieu to his show on Fox, and made his interest in the 2016 Republican presidential nomination a matter of public record. Unlike former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Huckabee is not immediately forming an exploratory committee. Still, the prospect of a Huckabee candidacy should be taken seriously. He finished second in 2008 behind John McCain, and maintains a reservoir of good will among...

TV host and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee says he is leaving his Fox News talk show as he considers whether to seek the Republican nomination for president, a decision he expects to reach in the spring. Huckabee said Saturday night's edition of "Huckabee" would be his last as he ponders his political future. The weekly show, which is taped with a live audience and features political commentary as well as interviews with guests and musical entertainment, has been on the air for more than six years. "There has been a great deal of speculation as to whether I would...

Former Arkansas Governor wrote in 2013 that Common Core state standards are “near and dear to my heart,” Gotnews.com has learned. The pro-Common Core stance of the former governor is of new interest now that Huckabee is contemplating a run for the presidency in 2016. Here’s an article from the Tulsa World from June in 2013. “Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee urged Oklahoma lawmakers to resist throwing out new educational standards the Legislature approved back in 2010.” “ In a letter to Oklahoma lawmakers this week, he said the Common Core state standards have been “near and dear to my...

Gov Mike Huckabee will announce his departure from FOXNEWS, DRUDGE has learned... Huckabee will address in detail on program tonight at 8 PM ET... Will be his last program after 6 1/2 years... Developing...

Happy new year! Welcome to the start of the presidential campaign marathon. For your consideration are five likely candidates, each representing a distinct segment of the U.S. political spectrum. Republicans have three probable candidates. Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush would represent the business conservative wing of the GOP -- Pew Research estimates this is 12 percent of likely voters. Bush would be the favorite of the big GOP spenders, the one percent that favors capitalism over democracy. Jeb's strengths are national name recognition, personable manner, Hispanic spouse, and reputation for moderation on social issues. His weaknesses: high unfavorability ratings and...

As government’s scope expands, voters see the advantages of a candidate from inside the Beltway.In 1947, U.S. historian Wilfred E. Binkley took stock of the 13 men who had been president since the end of the Civil War and reached a stark conclusion: Governorship was “a training school for successful presidents.” The seven ex-governors on the list – including both Roosevelts, Theodore and Franklin – were far more effective chief executives than the six others. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said pretty much the same thing during the Republican Governors Association meeting last month. “We’re better at it,” Christie told...

I spent Christmas week in Fairhope, Alabama, which is Alabama’s answer to Sausalito, CA. And now I’m reporting from Palm Desert, California, which is an exclusive enclave of bipartisan one-percenters. Palm Desert is California’s answer to Heaven. The streets here aren’t paved with gold, but they might as well be. I consider Fairhope to be prosperous and affluent, but the people in Palm Desert are rich! They’re not getting new trucks and hunting gear for Christmas, they’re getting Bentleys and Gulfstreams. Roll Tide! Anyway, as you can imagine, my friends and family are pretty pro-GOP – even if there is...

In the aftermath of President Obama giving the Castro regime diplomatic recognition, Senator Marco Rubio has been pretty much everywhere, including multiple television appearances and authoring this Wall Street Journal op-ed. According to Senator Rubio, “By conceding to the oppressors in the Castro regime, this president and his administration have let the Cuban people down, further weakened America’s standing in the world and endangered Americans.” Whether or not one agrees with Rubio’s position–and I’m sympathetic to it–he makes his case clearly, intelligently, and with passion. Despite some differences with him now and then–I found his advocacy for the tactics that...

In a stirring speech delivered at the annual Bet El Institutions dinner earlier this week, former Arkansas Governor and US Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee said that the United States should immediately cease its funding to the Palestinian Authority (PA) and allocate the same amount to housing for Jews in Judea and Samaria (AKA the West Bank). Huckabee, who led three groups to Israel this year alone, said that he always brings tourists to a random Palestinian shop to ask to see Israel on the maps sold in the store. The shopkeeper inevitably looks confused because Israel doesn’t appear on their...

The most conservative candidates are, with the exception of 1964, invariably the bridesmaid and never the bride in the GOP presidential primary. (In 1980, there were candidates such as Rep. Phil Crane of Illinois to Ronald Reagan’s right.) Part of the explanation is that the most conservative voters divide their support among candidates, leaving a path for a more moderate figure to coast to victory. And part of the explanation is that they tend to set upon candidates who self-destruct, are not qualified or are simply too extreme — and often all three. In 2016, how can they break this...

Rick Santorum won primaries and caucuses in 11 states in 2012, coming in a respectable second in the GOP presidential primary season. And Republicans have a history of bestowing their nomination on the next guy in line, usually an also-ran from the last contest. Yet the former senator from Pennsylvania is rarely mentioned in the already feverish pre-game 2016 chatter among the political commentariat and the donor class. That’s just the way he likes it. Or so he says. “America loves an underdog. We’re definitely the underdog in this race,” he said in an interview Tuesday. Santorum added that being...

<p>Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor and vice presidential pick, is headed to Iowa in January 2015 for a conservative gathering that will showcase no fewer than nine potential 2016 presidential contenders.</p> <p>She’s one of the confirmed speakers at the inaugural Iowa Freedom Summit, an event organized by Iowa Rep. Steve King and conservative group Citizens United to “bring grassroots activists from across Iowa to hear directly from national conservative leaders,” per its website. The event is scheduled for Jan. 24.</p>