Huckabee In For The Long Haul, So He Says

Mike “Huck” Huckabee said that he wasn’t stepping out of the race, just to make it a two man race with McCain and Romney. Many people are accusing him of stealing Romney’s votes. He is trying to turn the tables on the media that is being critical of him. Here are some highlights from a campaign stump in Alabama on Saturday.

Mike Huckabee says he will not step aside, no matter how much pressure he faces to let John McCain and Mitt Romney duke it out in a two-man race.

The former Arkansas governor is concentrating hard on the southern states, looking to pick up delegates and stay competitive beyond Super Tuesday, Feb. 5.

Though he’s steadily lost the wind from his sails following his win in the lead-off Iowa caucuses Jan. 3, Huckabee wants to be more than just a spoiler.

Huckabee said that he won’t take the bait from anybody calling for him to bow out.

Romney and his strategists have said Huckabee could split the conservative vote, a bloc Romney is courting heavily. He wants to consolidate support among that group as McCain comes under fire from the far right for being too moderate on illegal immigration and other hot-button issues.

Romney recently said that a vote for Huckabee is a vote for McCain, and has sought to diminish Huckabee’s presence on the trail.

Responding to charges from Huckabee that he’s a flip-flopper, Romney said Friday in Denver, “Gov. Huckabee is always good for a good chuckle … I think the presidency is about something very serious.”

But Huckabee took umbrage at Romney’s comments, and lashed out at the former Massachusetts governor.

“A vote for me is a vote for me. A vote for Mitt Romney may be a vote for Hillary Clinton,” he said in Tulsa, Okla., Friday. “Because the fact is, I’ve got a far more conservative record than Mitt Romney ever dreamed of having.”

Huckabee is probably just spinning his wheels here, trying to make one last good effort because, if he doesn’t do reasonably well on Super Tuesday as far as delegates go, then expect him to endorse John McCain shortly thereafter.

Source: Fox News

Sphere: Related Content

February 2, 2008 | Filed Under 2008 Presidential Election, Republican, Super Tuesday, mike huckabee