News Roundup

(Feeling a bit under the weather the last day or so...)

Here is a quick roundup of what is happening with Mike Huckabee:

Rasmussen Daily Tracking Poll has Huckabee at 23% versus Giuliani's 19%. Giuliani had a big day several days ago that tomorrow will drop off this rolling poll, therefore we could see Huckabee's number jump up again. I'll keep my eye on it.

Most Iowa polls coming out in the last week or so have Huckabee with a lead of anywhere from 5 to 20 percentage points. This in spite of the constant attacks from Mitt Romney and the "conservative" talking heads. Romney is gambling that attacking Huckabee will bleed off enough voters in Iowa to give him a decent finish, but Iowans are famous for not responding kindly to negative ads.

Speaking of Romney, there is some word from the Huckabee campaign that Romney has a film crew in Hope, Arkansas right now. Could he be attempting to dig up some negative info on Huckabee? How would that play in the primaries? Would people really appreciate a fellow Republican going back to a rival's hometown and trying to pry negative stories out of folks? My guess is no...although, the prospect of doing this is downright Clintonian in stature...

It seems that Huckabee is rising in pretty much every poll that comes out of late...

ARG has him tied nationally with Giuliani at 21%

Quinnipiac has Huckabee as the only candidate to gain on Giuliani in the New Jersey primary (as state where Giuliani has been VERY popular). They have Huckabee up to third with 8% behind Giuliani and McCain. Giuliani, however has lost 10 percentage points overall there since the last poll, suggesting that his support may be soft.

Rasmussen has Huckabee (14%) moving up to a statistical tie for third with Giuliani (15%) in New Hampshire. Romney seems to have the Granite State locked up with 33%, but in this crazy political season, who knows? A strong second place showing (high teens) would be a victory for Huckabee. A win in New Hampshire for Huckabee would probably put Romney on the ropes or even out for good. Commentators have stated that the sudden lead Obama has taken there over Clinton could bode well for Huckabee. The thought is that independents and moderates would be drawn to the newly competitive Democratic race, thereby making the Republican race much more conservative. We shall see...

Matt Drudge has made news for himself in recent days for stating that supposedly the DNC is laying off Huckabee in the primaries, calling him an "easy kill" with a "glass jaw" in November. Turns out, the DNC has claimed to have said no such thing. There is even some speculation that the Romney campaign might be behind this. I'm sorry, but the DNC is smart enough to know that if they really think this, that their best course of action is to keep their big mouths shut until after we nominate the guy!

It seems that James Pinkerton over at Newsday would disagree with the assertion that Huckabee is an "easy kill." Just read this article to see why...

More to come later as I address the recent attacks on Huckabee and how we can combat them!

~Justin