Biography: Mike Huckabee
Mike Huckabee was a two-term governor of Arkansas who is running because of the lack of fresh faces in the race. He is a former Baptist preacher who takes a far-right position on abortion, but is relatively out of step with his party on immigration. Huckabee has also been the subject of frequent attacks from conservative anti-tax groups because of his initial refusal to sign Grover Norquist's no-tax pledge calling it a “dangerous promise”. After harsh criticism, he reversed course and signed the pledge in time for the 2007 CPAC conference. He has had frequent ethical missteps, including using state planes for personal and campaign purposes and accepting gifts from companies and lobbyists. Because his campaign barely raised $500,000 in the first quarter, Huckabee is scaling his campaign back and hoping to survive just long enough to win the Iowa straw poll. He has admitted that the campaign will be over if he hasn’t made it to the top-tier of the race by then.
