Huckabee on Saturday Night Live

Although there have been calls for Mike Huckabee to pull out of the Republican race now that john McCain clearly has the party’s endorsement and it is mathematically improbable that Huckabee’s 217 delegates could catch up to McCain’s 918, he has remained steadfast in his run for the Presidency. Huckabee made an appearance on the weekend update of Saturday Night Live and used the opportunity to explain why he is ignoring his party-men’s pleas to relinquish his bid for the Presidency. Playing his usual comical self, after being told about the “mathematical impossibility” of winning Huckabee ascertained that “When it’s time to go, I’ll know. And I’ll exit out with class and grace.” In true Saturday Night Live fashion, Huckabee sat through two sets of applause ignoring hints to get off the stage. The question on everyone’s mind is, why hasn’t Huckabee dropped out of the race? There are several possible reasons and the most likely is that the former Governor of Arkansas wants to accumulate as much attention as possible to build a base for running in the future. Virtually unknown outside the state of Arkansas until he attracted national press around Thanksgiving which continued through Super Tuesday, his heyday for this election is winding down but now he has foundations to build upon if he chooses to run for a national position again. While there was initially speculation about him receiving the Vice Presidential nomination, it now seems unlikely and “The longer Huckabee stays in, the more likely he won't be vice president." Ironically, in a list of things everyone must know about Mike Huckabee, published in the Dallas Morning News, his wife’s maiden name is McCain—who knows what would have happened if he hadn’t married his competition? In addition, the reporter explained “in college, Mr. Huckabee and his friends used to fry squirrel in a popcorn popper in their dorm room. I should say it tastes a lot like chicken, but it doesn't, [Huckabee] told NBC's Tim Russert recently.” Despite his odd college pass time, who knows when Huckabee will stop praying for a miracle and begin preparing for his next run for the Republican Party’s Nomination?

When will Huckabee drop out?

After news reporters called McCain the winner of the Washington Republican caucus with only 87% of the precincts reported, Huckabee disputed the results. He noted that the state had not counted 1,500 delegates and there were “obvious irregularities” in the Republican caucuses. This prompted the state to count more votes (93% of the precincts reported), but ultimately the state still declared McCain the winner with 25% vs. Huckabee’s 24%. However, the Huckabee campaign remains optimistic. Looking ahead to the important Texas primary, the campaign expects great results and perhaps the ability to stop McCain’s great momentum. Huckabee told reporters “we have a real shot in Texas because Texas is a very conservative state”. However, it is very unlikely that Huckabee who has only 217 delegates (McCain has 830) will become the Republican nomination. Huckabee needs 974 more delegates, while McCain only needs 361 more.

Moreover, this weekend Huckabee spoke at a young leadership award banquet in the Cayman Islands for money. This trip had nothing to do with Huckabee’s quest for the Republican presidential nomination. However, Huckabee defended this trip affirming, “The taxpayers aren't paying a dime for me to campaign and I don't take anything from my campaign so I have to make a living.” In addition, Huckabee claims that he is paying for Senator Clinton, Obama, and McCain’s campaigns asserting an interesting argument, “I’m a taxpayer and I have to pay for their Senate salaries even if they’re not on duty”.


The following question remains constantly on my mind. When will Huckabee drop out of the race for president? Huckabee recently affirmed, “I am still in this race. As I have said all along, I am in this race until someone gets to 1,191 delegates. That has not happened yet, and so I will keep campaigning for the Republican nomination. Period. That’s my ironclad commitment to my supporters.” Will Huckabee honor this commitment, or will he drop out soon, realizing the inevitability of receiving the Republican nomination? We just have to wait and see…

Huckabee wins 6 states in 1 week

In this past week’s Super Tuesday, that boasted twenty-two states up for grabs, Huckabee won a large portion of the South and now holds 217 delegates, 214 of which are pledged to support him in the Republican National Convention. The states he won on February 5th include Arkansas, West Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama. Furthermore, he is currently trailing Republican frontrunner, John McCain, who has 714 delegate votes,697 of which are confirmed that they will support him in the party’s convention. Following Hucakbee’s impressive showing in the South, the other major republican candidate, Mitt Romney, dropped out of the race after only a few disappointing wins this week. The loss of Romney will greatly change the dynamics of the race since McCain and Huckabee had previously avoided attacking each other and instead teamed up against Romney, now the question is will the top two candidates continue to play nice?
In yesterday’s primary elections, Huckabee won in the state of Kansas, Louisiana and lost in a very close race in Washington State. According to the party’s rules, receiving delegates for the win in Louisiana is in jeopardy because Huckabee did not receive the majority of the votes, only the plurality. However, Huckabee vows to continue his campaign after winning six states in less than a one week and commented, “Earlier this morning, I said I didn't major in math, I majored in miracles. It looks like my victory in Kansas is one of them. Clearly I am pleased by these results, but it is onward and upward to Virginia and Maryland."
Outside the Huckabee campaign excitement it seems President George W. Bush has endorsed “a true conservative,” John McCain. Although Bush has extremely low popularity ratings, the endorsement will probably still hurt Huckabee seeing as he still holds access to many key fundraising techniques as the current President of the United States. In addition to holding six rallies in Kansas this week, Huckabee found the time to attend a taping of the Tyra Banks Show this past week, which is supposed to be shown on the air on February 29th. Apparently, his expertise fro his band Capitol Offense entitled him to give Tyra guitar lessons and they also discussed how he lost 112lbs. once informed of his diagnosis of Type II diabetes.

Huckabee Remains Optimistic

After Huckabee’s loss in South Carolina, Huckabee had to minimize his campaigning in Florida due to a lack of funds. For instance, Huckabee only advertised on cable television stations; in addition, Huckabee reduced his traveling throughout Florida. However, when he did visit local Floridians, he emphasized his conservative stance on economic issues, rather than his religious views. Because of Huckabee’s lack of funds, which only gave him minimal correspondence with the Florida’s voters, Huckabee probably realized he would inevitably loose the primary. Indeed, Huckabee was correct that he would not win the primary; Huckabee came in 4th place in the state with 14% of the votes (Giuliani came in 3rd with 15th).


However, Huckabee, focusing (right after Florida) on the Super Tuesday primaries, remains optimistic. “We have a long way to go in this nominating process. When you look at what we have done, with what we have, it's a remarkable story that is not even close to being over. […] I'm convinced that my optimistic message of hope and change will continue to resonate with voters as we head into Super Tuesday.” The Huckabee campaign envisions many successes on this date, when many Southern and conservative states will vote for their Republican nominee. Reinforcements of this optimsitc prediction include Huckabbe’s recent endorsements from the Tennessee and Aranksas Right to Life PACS, as well as Huckabee’s stellar performance at the Republican CNN presidential debate in Los Angeles.