Mike Huckabee the Rising Republican Candidate

Now that the straw poll is over and Mitt Romney's investment returned a sizeable win in major presidential state, Iowa, the only question left to be answered is how did Arkansas governor, Mike Huckabee win? Win you say? Certainly. In presidential terms, winning in the primaries begins with straw poll success. For Huckabee, the more underfunded presidential candidate from Hope, Arkansas, to finish second by less than fifteen percentage points to Mitt Romney is a major coupe for the rising candidate.

With other candidates like John McCain and Rudy Giuliani passing on the straw poll for different reasons and undeclared candidate Fred Thompson not on the ballot, the Iowa straw poll was Romney's to showcase his organizational abilities in a state where poll participants in large part voted when they were picked up in buses by candidates and transported to the straw poll location. With Romney spending a sizable amount of money and Huckabee using that to his advantage, over 2,000 people cast their ballots for the most dynamic orator of the presidential candidates.

Huckabee's appeal is derived from several factors. People in Iowa as well as around the nation will place tremendous value on what Mike Huckabee is not. He is not a presidential candidate loaded with a great deal of personal wealth. Mitt Romney on the other hand has a massive net worth from his father's time in the automobile industry in Michigan as well as that success opening the door to a successful public service career as governor in the northern state. Mike Huckabee pulled his own bootstraps to success. He is the first in his family to graduate high school and attended a Baptist college. While he is from the same town as former president William Jefferson Clinton, Mike Huckabee is a politician whose roots are in the church, with his oratory skills honed in the pulpits of Arkansas.

In presidential history, frontrunners have long suffered the problem of having to lead through a long election cycle. No election cycle has started as early as the one America is actively involved in now. Even in the Democratic Party where the race is down to three candidates, the amount of money and effort being exerted is exceeding all historic records. In the recently completed quarter, both US Senators, Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama raised over thirty million dollars each. In Republican circles, Rudy Giuliani has been the major leader since John McCain imploded earlier this year. With McCain out of the way, the race seemed between Giuliani and Romney at least until Fred Thompson declares his candidacy. With Huckabee's surprise showing, party dynamics may create a vacuum of support for Huckabee.

In Huckabee, Republicans see the candidate most like the center of the party. Conservative and Christian, Mike Huckabee resides on neither wing of the party. While Giuliani is wildly popular because of his heroic leadership exhibited during Sept. 11, his social stances are hardly Republican. In Mitt Romney, Republicans will have to answer the question of whether they can vote for a Mormon president. And according to recent surveys, at least a third of the party said they had some personal misgivings about electing a president with a Mormon faith background.

With the Iowa straw poll, Huckabee's popularity is obviously growing and his potential to become a legitimate third candidate is growing. After a popular time as governor, Mike Huckabee toured the nation as a healthy eating winner after losing over one hundred pounds. With so much going for him without financing, the question looms if Mike Huckabee can become a well-funded candidate. If he can, the other candidates may find themselves looking at the next president from Hope, Arkansas. Just ask the first Hope president, how much humor, centrality, and lack of funding can have on the campaign trail.