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Republican underdog Mike Huckabee capped a stunning political rise to beat rival Mitt Romney in Iowa
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January 04, 2008, 10:15
Former Arkansas Governer Mike Huckabee, an affable Baptist preacher, won over Iowans with his religiosity and charm, outfoxing rival Mitt Romney who heavily out-spent him.
Huckabee today won the Republican caucuses in Iowa, the first US state to nominate candidates for the November 2008 election.
He relied on an informal network of conservative bloggers and evangelical Christians to compensate for Romney's huge financial advantage and negative ads aimed at his record.
Religion plays a big role in the United States, where levels of belief and church attendance are much higher than in Europe. Evangelicals number around 60 million in the country of 300 million people.
His opposition to abortion and gay marriage - rallying cries for the party's evangelical base - was shared by the rest of the Republican field with the notable exception of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
But he was able to win over the critical constituency in the midwestern state by effectively portraying himself as one of their own -- pious, humble and a good old boy to boot who likes to hunt and fish.
Huckabee was raised in Hope, Arkansas, the hometown of former President Bill Clinton, and won over many supporters with a sense of humor that landed him on Jay Leno's top-ranked late night "Tonight Show." Huckabee even demonstrated his bass guitar playing on the show.
Huckabee, 52, made some apparent missteps along the way which brought him criticism from some quarters but not from his conservative supporters in the heartland.
Increased scrutiny
With his victory in Iowa, Huckabee will come under increased scrutiny and faces a difficult road to reach the White House. He will have to rely on the enthusiasm of the Republican Party's influential and re-energized evangelical base.
"We learned from the elections of 2000 and 2004 that evangelicals have strong social networks that can be mobilized for political purposes for the right candidate. Huckabee may be the right candidate for 2008," said Scott Keeter of the Washington-based Pew Research Center.
Huckabee seems to have tapped the evangelical community's more informal networks - a departure from the past when structured organizations like the Christian Coalition worked to get out the vote for socially conservative Republicans.
Homeschoolers - who teach their children at home to shield them from what they see as corrupt secular influences - have tight if unofficial networks throughout the country that were at work in Iowa.
Todd Hertzberg, a middle-aged evangelical from Arkansas, said he braved the bitter cold of a midwestern winter with his four home-schooled children to volunteer in Huckabee's campaign.
"He's 100% rock solid on the big moral questions of life and marriage," he told Reuters, referring to abortion and gay marriage. - Reuters
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