Only a few weeks ago Huckabee won the Iowa caucus. Now his campaign looks to be floundering.
Battling to stay competitive after his weekend loss in South Carolina, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is taking new steps to save money, including no longer scheduling planes and buses for journalists trying to cover his presidential campaign.Running no advertisements in Florida sounds like a losing strategy to me. The only real visibility candidates have in this state is their television commercials. I've never met a state-wide candidate face to face in my over 30 years of residency here. Back in the 80's I met my Congressman Dan Mica, and my Boca Raton based State House Representative, Carol Hansen. In Mica's case, the meeting was accidental. We had a mutual friend and just happened to be eating at the same Denny's.Huckabee said he will continue to campaign in Florida on a shoestring budget, but added that he may pull out of the state before its Jan. 29 Republican primary if his prospects look dim.
"I don't want to abandon Florida yet," Huckabee told reporters Monday on a late-night flight from Orlando to Atlanta, where he planned to campaign Tuesday. "We have not come to the conclusion that Florida is out of play."
He said his campaign will evaluate the Florida situation day by day. Meanwhile, he said, he will find time to campaign in several other southern states holding primaries on Feb. 5.
"We really need to conserve as much as we can" for TV and radio ads in those states, Huckabee said in a 36-minute news conference at the back of his press charter. He said he is airing no ads in Florida, one of the nation's largest and costliest states for campaigns.
I don't think Huckabee will be the GOP Presidential nominee in November. The momentum he had looks to have disippated. Not that I ever cared for Huckabee. I do however feel the more options voters have, the better. Candidates dropping out before most primaries have even taken place isn't the best process for democracy.
Permalink | Send To A Friend | Linking Blogs | Digg this!
Filed under:
2008 Presidential Race, Florida, Huckabee, States
Comments (7)
According to <a href="http:... (Below threshold)1. Posted by Jim Addison | January 22, 2008 2:03 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
According to The Prowler, he has asked senior staff to stay on without pay, and everyone else to take steep cuts, but many are leaving.
The money never came in the way it usually does for the Iowa winner. I expect Huckabee's decision to narrowly tailor his message for maximum appeal to evangelicals, along with his record on taxes and spending in Arkansas, made him unacceptable to everyone else.
What's bad for the democratic process isn't the winnowing out of weaker and parochial candidates - it's the glut of early primaries the week after Florida. Not even the money leaders, Clinton and Obama, will be able to run full ad campaigns in all those expensive markets simultaneously.
Millions of voters will be relying on news coverage to make up their minds. Now, THAT is bad for democracy!
1. Posted by Jim Addison | January 22, 2008 2:03 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on January 22, 2008 14:03
2. Posted by Alan Orfi | January 22, 2008 5:28 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Huckabee correctly assessed that he has no chance of winning Florida (an all-or-nothing primary), so it makes sense to shut down that effort. He is still viable in three Super Tuesday states, so I think he will focus on racking up his delegate total in hopes of a VP offer which will never come. His being the strongest conservative on social issues could help balance a McCain ticket, but I still think Romney is going to be the nominee. Romney should be the main benefactor of the Thompson pull-out and I see him winning Florida by as many as 8 points.
2. Posted by Alan Orfi | January 22, 2008 5:28 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on January 22, 2008 17:28
3. Posted by Flint | January 23, 2008 12:04 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
wow - you admit to eating at Denny's?
3. Posted by Flint | January 23, 2008 12:04 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on January 23, 2008 00:04
4. Posted by DevilDog | January 23, 2008 2:30 AM | Score: -1 (1 votes cast)
Bill: I do however feel the more options voters have, the better.
Wrong!!!
The more nut cases Republican primary voters have to choose from, the better>
4. Posted by DevilDog | January 23, 2008 2:30 AM |
Score: -1 (1 votes cast)
Posted on January 23, 2008 02:30
5. Posted by marc | January 23, 2008 3:36 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
divildog - "The more nut cases Republican primary voters have to choose from, the better>"
You mean like Biden and Kucinich on your side?
And Shillary isn't the perfect picture of mental health either.
5. Posted by marc | January 23, 2008 3:36 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on January 23, 2008 03:36
6. Posted by bryanD | January 23, 2008 10:04 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
I think Fred dropping-out of the race reinvigorates the Huckabee campaign since I think most of Fred's WASP vote will go to him now.
As for money, $20K will get him and one aide around the country by auto through Super Tuesday, with plenty of beer and chicken money and reservations at LaQuinta Inns.
Isn't his pal the producer-actor-pitchman Chuck Norris? Mister Moneybags?
No problemo. I think Huck will sweep the south (at least 2nd in FL) as well as the border states plus Ohio and Indiana.
If he's thinking of dropping out now, he's insane. "FAIR Tax! FAIR Tax!..." Do that.
6. Posted by bryanD | January 23, 2008 10:04 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on January 23, 2008 10:04
7. Posted by Alan Orfi | January 24, 2008 12:37 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
You Wizbangers just may be a bit premature in sticking that fork in the Huckabee campaign. Personally, I gave up on him myself following the devastating loss in South Carolina, but this effort seems to be defying logic the past two days as donations have actually increased dramatically and the bleeding has stopped in the polls. The media virtually ignored this, but Duncan Hunter has endorsed Huckabee today. Yes, the "liberal" on immigration has received Duncan Hunter's endorsement, so some of that 1% may be coming our way.
Contrary to what the media has been reporting, Mike Huckabee has NOT pulled out of Florida. He spoke in the state today and is scheduling more stops for this weekend. He's probably a thousand-to-one shot at this point, but hey... he's in better shape than Fred.
7. Posted by Alan Orfi | January 24, 2008 12:37 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on January 24, 2008 00:37