Huckabee running for president? Maybe not

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Former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee speaks during the third session of the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota September 3, 2008. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee speaks during the third session of the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota September 3, 2008.

Credit: Reuters/Brian Snyder

WASHINGTON | Fri May 13, 2011 5:06pm EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Mike Huckabee says he will have a "very important announcement" on Saturday, feeding speculation that he has decided not to seek his party's U.S. presidential nomination in 2012.

Huckabee, a former governor of Arkansas who is riding high in some 2012 polls among Republicans, said on Friday on his radio show, The Huckabee Report, his listeners should tune in to his Fox News Channel television show for "a very important announcement coming this Saturday."

Huckabee has been wrestling over whether to launch a second run for his party's nomination -- he lost to John McCain in 2008 -- or stick with his Fox TV show, which he would have to give up if he became a candidate.

Republican strategist Ed Rollins, who managed Huckabee's 2008 campaign, said he did not know Huckabee's plans and that Huckabee has not been in touch with him about a 2012 campaign.

"My gut tells me he's not in," Rollins told Reuters.

President Barack Obama was far ahead of all possible Republican candidates mentioned in a Reuters/Ipsos poll this week.

A Huckabee decision not to run would add more uncertainty about the slow-to-start Republican race to pick a 2012 challenger to Obama. Huckabee won Iowa, which holds the first U.S. voting contest, in 2008 and would be expected to do well again there in 2012.

A number of high-profile Republicans have either declined to run or are still weighing their options.

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is expected to run, as is former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty. Former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich became a candidate this week, along with a number of longshots.

Still on the fence are Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and Minnesota Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann.

(Reporting by Steve Holland; editing by Todd Eastham)
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Comments (3)
Trooth wrote:
I hope he doesn’t run and throws his support for Paul. Same with Romney. Paul has the best chance of beating Obama, but a poor chance of winning the primary if they start off with 11 candidates like last year. That is why we ended with McCain who was a moderate and had very little chance of winning the general election.

May 13, 2011 8:52pm EDT  --  Report as abuse
seattlesh wrote:
Huckabee is just another huckster on the FOX Noise payroll. Stay there please so the rest of us can ignore you for eternity.

May 13, 2011 9:31pm EDT  --  Report as abuse
Fin500 wrote:
Ron Paul! Ron Paul! He predicted/warned about the housing bubble in 2000, and 2003. He warned about bombing in Afghanistan and Iraq in the 90′s claiming it would incite terrorist attacks. He has predicted the rise of inflation for the last 10 years leading to the devaluing of our currency, but the FED has pumped money into the system only delaying the inevitable crash–it hasn’t happened yet. He has also mentioned the ever growing concern with the approaching education bubble that will soon burst; companies made billions off lending large loans, and now all student loans are backed by the government; encouraging another market crash when college graduates are 50K in debt and can’t find a job. Now, instead of the major lending institutions who facilitated this going broke, the “Department of Education” assumes the debt and it will go broke (i.e. the effects will be felt throughout our economy). He is not genius; however, just a man with a ton of basic social and economic common sense. Please, if you disagree, just go online and watch his videos dating back to the mid 90′s–Republicans (who appear now, to be neoconservatives claiming to be Republicans thanks to the last 40 years) and Democrats who disagree with him, really have no basis in reality to do so.

Before any response, please take 5 minutes and watch a couple of his videos; if you still disagree after watching, please enlighten me as to why he is the wrong guy for president, I am still searching–really searching–to find faults in his ideology.

Vote Ron Paul in 2012

May 13, 2011 10:50pm EDT  --  Report as abuse
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