It looks like the Arkansas governor is making a race of it in Iowa.

Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, buoyed by strong support from Christian conservatives, has surged past three of his better-known presidential rivals and is now challenging former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney for the lead in the Iowa Republican caucuses, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News Poll.

Huckabee has tripled his support in Iowa since late July, eclipsing former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, former senator Fred D. Thompson (Tenn.) and Sen. John McCain (Ariz.). Huckabee now runs nearly evenly with Romney, the longtime Iowa front-runner.

Frankly, I would not have expected this one. Given his history of raising taxes (plus a natural inclination to distrust any Arkansas governor), I would not have expected him to get much traction at all, and I had thought that his recent rise in the polls is a temporary one. But with a quarter of Iowans polled supporting him, I have to wonder if his campaign is for real.

A Mormon and a baptist preacher on the GOP ticket in 2008 -- it has some real possibilities for defusing the religion issue.

Posted by: Greg at 02:44 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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