Mike Huckabee

Mike Huckabee (born Michael Dale Huckabee, 24 August 1955), an American politician and former Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007, is a leading contender for the Republican Party nomination in the 2008 presidential election. Almost unknown in mid 2007, he climbed the polls steadily and won the closely watched Iowa caucus on Jan. 3, 2007. His base of support comprises "born again" evangelical Christians, a large element in the GOP. Huckabee, after many years as a television personality and motivational speaker, combines conservative policy positions with a winsome friendly attitude that puts voters at ease. he has been attacked as a tax-and-spend liberal, especially by rival Fred Thompson..His funding base is meager, but national polls put him in first or second place, with John McCain his main rival.

forGOP national polls

Huckabee is also an ordained Southern Baptist minister, writer of health books, and bass guitar player for his rock band, Capitol Offense.

Early Career

Huckabee was born and raised in Hope, Arkansas of a working class family. He did not overlap with Bill Clinton who was also born in Hope but left as a small child. Huckabee in his early teens became a radio announcer and preacher. He attended nearby Oachita Baptist College (BA 1975), and studied theology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Dallas, Texas (1976-80, no degree.) He was minister at Baptist churches in Pine Bluff and Texarkana, Arkansas in the 1980s, gaining fame for his preaching style and for his religious shows on television. He was elected in 1989 as president of the Arkansas Baptist Convention, with 490,000 members; he was elected as a moderate in opposition to the hardline conservatives.

Family

Huckabee is married to Janet (née McCain) and has three children.

Bibliography

• Barone, Michael, and Richard E, Cohen. Almanac of American Politics: 2006 (2005)