Rising Republican Huckabee tests appeal in U.S. South

U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee talks to supporters at Lizards Thicket in Columbia, South Carolina December 8, 2007.

GREENVILLE, South Carolina (Reuters) - Surging in the polls, Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee took his folksy style to the U.S. Bible Belt on Saturday in an attempt to broaden his campaign's national appeal.

The former Arkansas governor's rapid rise was underscored this week by two opinion surveys, one of which put him ahead in the crucial first state of Iowa and another that gave him a national lead over rivals Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani.

"We've been on the stove simmering for about 11 months," Huckabee told an audience in Greenville. "Somehow in the last two weeks, the lid blew off and the pot started boiling."

A Newsweek poll put Huckabee in the lead in Iowa by a 2-to-1 margin. The poll showed the Arkansas governor garnering 39 percent of the support of likely Republican caucus-goers, followed by Romney with 17 percent in the state, where the Massachusetts governor had previously been ahead.

Although Giuliani has led the Republican field in many nationwide polls, a Rasmussen poll released this week put Huckabee at the front of the pack with a slim 1-point edge over the former New York mayor.

Once viewed as a second-tier candidate, Huckabee is now basking in media attention. In South Carolina, he hopes his credentials as a former Baptist minister will help him court voters in the state with a high number of churchgoers.

In Greenville, he appeared to revel in his image as an ordinary guy whose values would chime with his audience and in an ironic nod to his sudden rock-star status, he played bass on stage with a local high school band prior to speaking.

CONSERVATIVE CHRISTIAN

Local businessman Hal Stevenson said he initially supported Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback but switched to Huckabee after Brownback withdrew from the race because he was a "conservative Christian" who could "communicate compassion."

The former Arkansas governor won applause for a promise to seal the country's borders to illegal immigrants and vowed to introduce a "flat" sales tax.

Huckabee also highlighted his modest roots, saying that on his mother's side he is "one generation away from dirt floors and outdoor toilets" and described his father as a fireman who had to moonlight as a contractor to provide for his family.

Among many references to the Bible he sprinkled in the speech, Huckabee cited scripture to urge the crowd to support a candidate who reflects their values.

"Like the prophet Isaiah said, look to the rock from which you were hewn, the quarry from which you were dug."

The speech, and an earlier one to a full house at the Lizard's Thicket restaurant in Columbia, made few references Iraq and Afghanistan and he spoke of the war on terror largely in the context of the need for oil independence.

The support among Christian conservatives that has buoyed Huckabee in Iowa also appears to be giving him a lift in South Carolina, which holds its Republican primary on January 19.

The state, the first in the South to vote, is considered an important testing ground for candidates.

Huckabee appears to be benefiting from skepticism among some conservative Christians about Romney's Mormon faith.

Romney sought to allay those fears in a speech on Thursday in which he urged Americans to look beyond his religion and honor the U.S. tradition of religious tolerance.

Despite his strength in recent polls, analysts say Huckabee faces challenges in the race. He has raised less money than rivals and must overcome the perception that his campaign lacks the polish of established top-tier contenders.

(Editing by Todd Eastham)