Is Huckabee Out?
WSJ
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee looks like he’ll give the 2012 White House campaign a pass, says Mr. Huckabee’s top political operative.
Mr. Huckabee has told followers to tune in to his Saturday evening show on Fox News for what he calls a major announcement. But Ed Rollins, who directed his 2008 campaign and has been organizing his 2012 campaign-in-waiting, said he has not been consulted.
“I’ve heard nothing, which indicates to me he’s not running,” Mr. Rollins said in an interview.
If Mr. Huckabee formally says he’s a no-go, his absence will reshape the still-chaotic campaign for the Republican nomination. He leads or is near the top of virtually every poll of Republican primary voters, and would have been the presumptive front runner in the first-in-the-nation caucus state of Iowa, which he won in 2008. Without him, a large Evangelical contingent – plus voters drawn to his easy-going personality – will be up for grabs in the Hawkeye State and beyond.
As recently as a week ago, Mr. Rollins said, he had been meeting with Mr. Huckabee intensively to go over his chances. A month ago, he said, the former governor was “fully engaged.” Two weeks ago, “he started backing off, but he still wanted to go through, could he raise the money, could he put together the operatives,” Mr. Rollins recalled. All the answers were “yes,” the campaign chief added.
They had assembled a strategy the foresaw him sweeping to victory in Iowa, then focusing on South Carolina, Florida and Texas.
(More here.)
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee looks like he’ll give the 2012 White House campaign a pass, says Mr. Huckabee’s top political operative.
Mr. Huckabee has told followers to tune in to his Saturday evening show on Fox News for what he calls a major announcement. But Ed Rollins, who directed his 2008 campaign and has been organizing his 2012 campaign-in-waiting, said he has not been consulted.
“I’ve heard nothing, which indicates to me he’s not running,” Mr. Rollins said in an interview.
If Mr. Huckabee formally says he’s a no-go, his absence will reshape the still-chaotic campaign for the Republican nomination. He leads or is near the top of virtually every poll of Republican primary voters, and would have been the presumptive front runner in the first-in-the-nation caucus state of Iowa, which he won in 2008. Without him, a large Evangelical contingent – plus voters drawn to his easy-going personality – will be up for grabs in the Hawkeye State and beyond.
As recently as a week ago, Mr. Rollins said, he had been meeting with Mr. Huckabee intensively to go over his chances. A month ago, he said, the former governor was “fully engaged.” Two weeks ago, “he started backing off, but he still wanted to go through, could he raise the money, could he put together the operatives,” Mr. Rollins recalled. All the answers were “yes,” the campaign chief added.
They had assembled a strategy the foresaw him sweeping to victory in Iowa, then focusing on South Carolina, Florida and Texas.
(More here.)
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