DALLAS - Former White House hopeful Mike Huckabee endorsed Sen. John McCain as he dropped out of the Republican presidential race on Tuesday night. But the million-dollar question is: will his network of evangelical supporters follow his lead?
Evangelicals not only lean heavily Republican, they are also among the party’s most energetic activists and Huckabee tapped networks that any GOP candidate could use in a close race.
The Huckabee machine included “homeschoolers” who volunteered for him in droves. The energy of those conservative Christians — who as their name suggests educate their children at home in part to shield them from the secular world — would be welcomed by the McCain camp.
Young conservative bloggers formed another part of Team Huckabee, getting the word out to Christian circles when he was still a relative unknown, and it will be of interest to see where this chattering class now tilts.
As the Republican field narrowed, McCain picked up a larger share of the evangelical vote in the state-by-state nomination battles suggesting that he already has made inroads with this group.
But conservative Christian heavyweights such as James Dobson, founder and chairman of the advocacy group Focus on the Family, has already said that he won’t vote for McCain because of his support for stem-cell research and other positions that are beyond the Religious Right’s pale.
One thing is certain: this is an area that will be keenly watched.
Click here for more Reuters 2008 campaign coverage.
- Photo credit: Reuters/John Gress
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In the almost 46 years I been in this country, never seen primaries like the ones in 2007-2008.
The Republican Party much to their shame has installed a person as their candidate that does not represent what The Party used to be…..good contrast to a sick Democratic Party.
But today, unfortunately our party is not much different in integrity to the Democratic Party and that is mainly why their leaders set up McCain as their candidate.
The end result of this sad state of affairs is that a very harmful to the country person is going to be elected president in November with a landslide which probably will equal the Johnson-Goldwater debacle.
Y will write in Huckabee as I will not let my conscience to be controlled by the lesser of two evil lie.
The lesser of two evils is evil.
This is easy to discern whether you are a Cristian or not.
- Posted by Pedro A DelgadoONLY MIKE HUCKABEE!!!
- Posted by SoniaI still stand by my 2 pledges to VOTE ONLY FOR MIKE HUCKABEE and to Vote Only For a Pro-Life Candidate.
I will be voting for Mike Huckabee in June (Montana)and again in November.
- Posted by KathyNow that McCain has secured the needed delegates, and Mike Huckabee has endorsed him; people in remaining States can feel free to vote for Mike and still fully support the GOP!!!
Yea!!!!
Please be encouraged to continue to show your support for Mike by carrying MISSISSIPPI!!!
- Posted by JimWhat is remarkable about Mike Huckabee is that even to the end with all of the media mocking him and drumming the ‘NO mathematical possibility’ Line ‘lie…McCain still does not have the delegates needed’, ad-nausium for weeks following Super-Tuesday contests, he not only finished the race but finished it with 34% support in ‘Nation wide polls’ compared to John McCains 56%.
In states that had already held primaries as well as those that unfortunately had no voice, Huckabee had a third of the people pulling for him over McCain’s less than 2/3. Note nationwide polls include the East and West Coast that are not players in the Republican plan and skew the final percentages greatly.
These were people who had already been told time and time again to just drop it ‘it’s all over now go home!’
I think he still holds the same numbers today because his supporters ‘I am one Myself’ respect his vision to ‘never give up until the bell rings.’
REMEMBER THE ALAMO!!!
Jim
- Posted by JimI just heard Mike Huckabee on the Larry King show. Mike Huckabee sure does have class. That is why his supporters LOVE HIM SO MUCH.
While Mike has pledged to support McCain, and he just did on Larry King… I’m sorry, My Husband and I cannot and will not support John McCain. Yep, Mike is right, no one is perfect but a vote for McCain, sorry to say this (Mike is wrong on this one) is a vote for Hillary Clinton and Obama. There is no difference between them.
The main reason we will not be supporting John McCain is because of the Keating 5 scandal. McCain is a crook, thief. What about the Americans that lost it all because of the Savings and Loan scandal? McCain has many other scandals in his closet that will all come out in this election.
I want to congratulate the Democrat Party right now. They will win in November. Its gonna be pretty ugly too. McCain will lose by a landslide that will be for the record books. Can anybody spell ‘Guinese’ (oops, I cant but you know what I mean)
We, my Husband and I, pledged a long time ago that if Mike did not get the nod, we would be writing Mike Huckabee in come November. The GOP media elitists and Liberal part of our party, greedy biggots, will never take my vote for granted ever again, we will not let them. They continue to do it, then they will continue to lose my vote. Give me liberty or give me death. My Party has LEFT me.
The way they treated Mike Huckabee has left my Husband and I numb. I used to be a huge fan of Fox News. That has come to an end as well. I hope they are satisfied with their nominee. He wont make it for them. Newt said one word that stood out to us and we knew it was a comin…
CATASTROPHY…FOR THE GOP. Blinded by greed and biggotry is their undoing. That blindness made them uncapable of seeing Mike Huckabee and the real conservative of this race that he is and will continue to be.
I did have the honor of voting for Mike here in the Primary here in Ohio. I weep for WE THE PEOPLE of the other states that were waiting to vote for Mike too. They now think that they cannot BUT THEY CAN. Mike will still be on those ballots. All the other GOP candidates that dropped out of the race (Giuliani, Romney, Thompson, etc…they were on the Ohio Primary Ballot too. So, Mike will be on those other ballots. They will not have enough time or money to take Him off those ballots, they usually dont anyway. ANYWAY MY POINT BEING…MIKE HUCKABEE SUPPORTERS THAT WANT TO VOTE FOR HIM IN THEIR PRIMARIES AND THINK THEY NOW CANT, WELL THINK AGAIN. SEND A LOUD MESSAGE TO THE GOP. THEY CANNOT TAKE US FOR GRANTED ANYMORE. GO TO YOUR POLLS AND VOTE AND VOTE ONLY FOR MIKE HUCKABEE. SEND A MESSAGE FOLKS. IF YOU DON’T THEY WILL CONTINUE TO DO THIS TO WE THE PEOPLE.
- Posted by LolaVote for McCain??? …uh….NO THANKS!
- Posted by CarolTo: Jim says:
March 5th, 2008 at 5:53 pm GMT
I totally agree w/ you about getting ‘hooked’ on Huckabee by accident. I stumbled on Huckabee during the SC debate. I thought you know, I better watch this debate so I know who I should vote for. I knew immediately I liked Mike. He was articulate, caring, passionate, clear, funny, & defintely had a game plan. I was ‘hooked’ from there on out…I started doing my own research. I’m sooo thankful that I did because the Conservative Talk Shows were misleading people about Romney (he is truly a flip-flopper). And the MSM was misleading people regarding McCain… if people would do their research they would know this man is NOT good for America!
Huckabee was my choice from the first. And he will continue to be my choice. I truly do not know if I can support McCain….I just don’t know if I can in all good conscience vote for this man.
I am truly grieved for our Nation that they did not clearly see that Huckabee is the answer for America.
We love Mike & will support him in 2012!! We have not seen the last of him!
- Posted by LindseyMember of Huck’s Army, a christian, & a radical right wing member of the GOP (as is most every member of the GOP as compared to the standard bearer, the self-proclaimed “Consvervative Liberal”, party nominee McCain.)
- Posted by Pam MI will not vote McCain because he has tried to curtail American citizens 1st & 2nd ammendment rights. As a member of the Gang of 14, he tried to block Bush’s tax cuts. He was callous in his proposal and backing of the Senate Select Committe on POW & MIA Affairs. He favored the Kyoto Protocol and co-sponsored the balonified Liberman-McCain Climate Stewardship Act. He embraced the Kennedy-Edwards-McCain Reimportation of Drugs bill. He is pro Roe v. Wade, which is document out of his own mouth on a TV clip available on YouTube. The Kennedy-McCain amnesty bill rewards not only illegal behavior and disregard for the law of this land, but it FAVORED illegal over American citizens.
He has proven himself willing, eager and proud to reach across to the Democrats. Likewise, he has proven himself to distain constituents of the party inwhich he is suppose to REPRESENT. This “hetrodox maverick” is not afraid to condensendingly tell citizens of his party to “shut your political pie-hole” or to “calm down”. Now, he says “friend” let’s come together, unite for the party’s sake, and vote for me. Fat chance. McCain did more than ignore his base, he spit in her face.
He has a well known temper. Why should I want that man in charge of the red alert button? He keeps pissing off conservatives, and gerrymandering to/with liberals. He is in my opinion egregious, condescending, and arrogant.
I will vote in November, but not for any of the top 3 dogs in the presidential race.
I am a Conservative Republican and I will not support McCain the way our family supported Huckabee…
It is too bad that the GOP party doesnt want to see our party to stand for the issues we value as Republican….and the way Huckabee reach to the young Republican and voters really made Huckabee the one should’ve been or Nominee…
- Posted by SandraSenator McCain would do well not to ignore the 32%of the Republican Party who voted for Mike Huckabee, against Media and Political endorsements. He already proved himself to know how to do a lot on a shoe string budget. Just think if the GOP and all their glamorous governers and Senators had thrown Mike Huckabee some bones.
- Posted by Olga HI agree with the majority of the commentators here and will not support John McCain, unless Mike Huckabee is on the ticket as V.P.
- Posted by Olga HThis Primary has taught many that we the people beleivd we had a free election, but all that happened is the Candidates that will keep the Washington machine alive were pushed through. We finally met a man who believes Government should serve the people, instead of the people serving the government. A miracle did happen, for the first time in my life, I witnessed Hope come back to America and that can’t die. We the people, of the United States, will no longer settle for politicians to lead us, but from now on will only vote for true leaders with a heart to serve the people. My vote will remain with Mike Huckabee until he becomes the next President of the United States.
Remember the ALAMO!!!
HuCkaBEE!!!!
- Posted by JimI will back McCain if Huckabee is the VP.
- Posted by cons3rvative