Huckabee married his wife Janet when he was 18, and graduated from Ouachita Baptist University in just over two years, explaining that it was the most economical way to get a degree. In 1976, he began working as director of communications for evangelical leader James Robison during which time he also attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. The work for Robison brought him to Immanuel Baptist in Pine Bluff. The church asked him to serve as interim pastor starting in 1980, and his career began as a Baptist minister. An experienced and skilled communicator, by 1989 he was elected president of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention,which boasted a membership of 490,000.

From the Church to the Governor's Mansion

In 1992, Huckabee entered politics by launching a U.S. Senate bid. Though he earned the Republican nomination, Democrat Dale Bumpers routed him in the general election, 60 percent to 40 percent.Following that election, Lt. Gov.Jim Guy Tucker (D) replaced Bill Clinton as governor of Arkansas as Clinton took the presidency. Huckabee ran to replace Tucker in a July 1993 special election. By that time, Clinton was already under fire over his tax plan and new gays in the military policy, and Huckabee narrowly edged out Nate Coulter, a pro-Clinton Democrat, 51 percent to 49 percent.

In May 1996, Tucker was convicted for arranging nearly $3 million in fraudulent loans, and forced to resign that July, allowing Huckabee to rise to governor. He was elected in his own right in 1998, beating Democrat attorney Bill Bristow, 60 percent to 39 percent.In 2002, Huckabee's popularity declined over ethics controversies involving gifts and what was seen as the self-aggrandizing firing of a state official.

Additionally, the Republican drew heat for issuing a string of unpopular pardons. Despite the turmoil, Huckabee won re-election that year against the Democratic State Treasurer Jimmie Lou Fisher, though by a narrower margin of 53 percent to 47 percent.

Race for the White House

Huckabee entered the 2008 presidential race as a heavy underdog for the Republican nomination, registering at one percent support in early polling. Short of money and with a skeleton organization, the governor decided to concentrate on making a strong showing in Iowa, the first nomination contest. The state's concentration of working-class, rural, and evangelical voters made it ideally-suited for his populist message and emphasis on Christian values.

In August 2007, Huckabee made a surprisingly strong showing in the Ames Straw Poll, an early test of who Iowan GOPers will choose, with 18 percent of votes cast, which was second only to Romney, who earned 32 percent. It was taken as an early sign of his potential in the state that Huckabee, who claimed to have spent just over $100,000 on the event, was able to come close to Romney, who had shelled out an estimated $2 million for the straw poll alone. "This really was feeding the 5,000 with two fish and five loaves," Huckabee quipped afterward.

The former pastor's task was made easier because no other candidate in the Republican field was able to consolidate support among the key social conservative base of the party. Romney, Huckabee's chief Iowa rival, was publically pro-abortion rights until less than two years before he launched his campaign for president, prompting many to question his sincerity. Huckabee underscored this difference in an October 2007 speech to the Value Voters' Summit, a gathering of social conservatives in Washington, D.C. organized by the Family Research Council. He endeared himself to the crowd by saying that he was at the event "as one who comes not to you, but one who comes from you." He received a rousing reception.

In fall 2007, Huckabee continued to get high marks for his debate performancesin which he'd mix populist rhetoric with homespun anecdotes and witty one-liners. He also got considerable mileage out of his endorsement from action star Chuck Norris, who campaigned with the governor and appeared in a campy ad in which Huckabee joked, "Chuck Norris doesn't endorse, he tells America how it's gonna be." Huckabee also took out an ad that referred to him as a "Christian leader," a move that was criticized by some as being too explicitly religious.

By December 2007, Iowa had evolved into a two-man race between Huckabee and Romney. Feeling the heat, Romney began airing ads criticizing Huckabee for raising taxes and being soft on immigration. Huckabee's rising national profile also brought with it more media scrutiny. His record of granting 1,033 pardons and commutations during his time as governor came to light as did commentsHuckabee made during his failed 1992 Senate campaign calling for the quarantining of AIDS patients.

But Huckabee fought back by portraying himself as a victim of Romney's "desperate" attacks and noting that he was being outspent 20-to-1. On January 3, 2008, Iowans gave Huckabee a nine-point victory over Romney in the Republican caucuses, catapulting him to the top tier of GOP candidates.

As the GOP primaries rolled on, however, it became clear that though Huckabee performed well in states where there was a critical mass of evangelical voters, his appeal was not much broader than that. After losing South Carolina to McCain (who had gained momentum from his win in New Hampshire), Huckabee's chances of winning the GOP nomination faded. In the end, the Arkansas governor won seven states in addition to Iowa and dropped out of the race in March 2008with the second most delegates in the Republican field.

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