CEDAR FALLS, United States (AFP) — Mike Huckabee, a wise-cracking, guitar-strumming, Baptist pastor has leapt into a conservative void and shot into contention in the unpredictable 2008 Republican White House race.
Huckabee, 52, was hitherto best known for being born in the same town, Hope, as Bill Clinton, and shedding more than 100 pounds from his once portly frame.
But, partly by exploiting discontent among Christian conservatives with the Republican field, Huckabee, a witty former Arkansas governor, has powered into second place in polls in Iowa, 65 days before the state's crucial caucuses.
"The religious right vote in the Iowa caucuses is a substantial bloc, and if you secure that support you are a serious player," said Cary Covington, a political science professor at the University of Iowa.
"Huckabee is, I think at a tipping point, he is going to need to do something splashy, a big financial haul, or a major endorsement," Covington said.
Huckabee's style is to leaven his staunch conservatism -- pro gun rights, doubts about the theory of evolution, opposition to gay marriage, and hawkish rhetoric on Iraq and the war on terror, with levity.
At an education forum at Northern Iowa University Wednesday, Huckabee, author of a book "Quit Digging Your Grave with a Knife and Fork," slipped into stand-up comic mode when a mobile phone rang.
"That's probably Dick Cheney wanting to take me hunting, and I am not going with him, OK?" he quipped, mocking the vice president's infamous shooting incident.
Such patter, and the fact that several of his Republican rivals are trying to appear something they are not -- lifelong social conservatives -- helps Huckabee to come across as humble and at ease.
Though a conservative, Huckabee is an outspoken advocate of spending government money on education, and healthcare for poor children.
And he told students at NIU that US schools had focused too narrowly on mathematics and science -- demanding the launch of "weapons of mass instruction" -- music and art.
"Math and science without music and art, is like trying to fly an airplane with a wing on the left, but without one on the right," he warned.
A bit-player at the start of the Republican race, polls now show Huckabee apparently on a roll.
In Iowa, an average by RealClearPolitics.com of recent polls has him in second place, on 15 percent and rising, behind former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney on 29 percent.
Nationally, a Rasmussen national daily tracking poll had Huckabee Wednesday third among Republicans, behind Rudolph Giuliani and Fred Thompson, but ahead of Senator John McCain and Romney.
Huckabee also came a strong second to Romney in a straw poll of evangelical voters recently in Washington.
He may also have another advantage, as ex-governors like Clinton, George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan have dominated the presidency in recent decades.
But Huckabee will still be a longshot for the Republican nomination, even if he causes a stir in the Iowa caucuses on January 3.
Despite warm reviews from pundits, strong performances in Republican debates and backing of grass-roots conservatives, he is short of campaign cash.
Up until October, he had raised only 2.3 million dollars -- limiting his capacity to mount an Iowa advertising blitz.
By comparison, Romney, who has piled millions of dollars of his own cash into the race, had raised 62 million.
Huckabee also suffers from questions about his depth. He has no foreign policy experience -- a liability with Iran, Iraq and terrorism top issues.
So, Huckabee is increasingly being mentioned as a possible vice presidential pick.
As an evangelical Christian, with strong support from the "religious right" Huckabee would be a good match for Giuliani, who has alienated the bloc with his support for abortion rights and gay rights.
On a Romney ticket, Huckabee could head off suspicion among evangelical voters about the former Massachusetts governor's Mormon religion.
And as a southerner, Huckabee could help balance a ticket with either man, both of whom made their names in the liberal northeast.
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