Suddenly, Huckabee Is in Romney's Rearview Mirror

An ordained Baptist minister with a Southern drawl, Huckabee and his campaign believe that much of his newfound support comes from the state's conservative Christians, many of whom lost their candidate when Brownback dropped out in October. Some estimates say evangelicals could make up 40 percent of GOP caucus attendees.

"That is his base. You consolidate that base in a year when the turnout is going to be pretty low, that's a pretty good base to have," said one longtime Iowa Republican who asked to remain anonymous to talk frankly about the candidates. He said religious voters had been disappointed by Thompson's campaign and the decision of former House speaker Newt Gingrich (Ga.) not to run this year. "Huckabee is kind of what's left standing."

Some members of the influential Iowa Christian Alliance have been helping Huckabee reach out to the state's churches and pastors.

"The most loyal and largest voting bloc the Republican Party has are pro-life voters . . . marriage issues, family issues," said Steve Deace, a Christian conservative radio personality who has turned his talk show into a daily pro-Huckabee showcase. "Those are issues of priority for us. Mike, by far -- and it's not even close -- has the most consistently positive positions."

On one recent show, Deace called on national evangelical leaders such as Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council and James Dobson of Focus on the Family to endorse Huckabee. "Stop playing games," he urged. "If we rally around him, he could win. Maybe you're like me. I'm tired of plugging my nose and voting for someone."

The high-profile endorsements have not yet followed, but Romney is taking Huckabee seriously enough that he now mentions him by name as he criticizes his record.

Campaigning Saturday in Derry, N.H., Romney aligned himself with Huckabee on "family, on marriage and the Second Amendment," then launched into a lengthy rebuke of Huckabee's fiscal policies. When it comes to fiscal issues, Romney added, "Republican voters are looking for a conservative, and he is a liberal. I'm a conservative."

"I've never bought into the story line where it was Mitt Romney and everybody else biting at our ankles," said Dave Kochel, a senior Romney adviser in Iowa. In his state, Kochel added, "It's always competitive."

In a Washington Post/ABC News poll released last week, 28 percent of probable caucus voters preferred Romney, while 24 percent backed Huckabee. Iowa Republicans chose Huckabee as the politician who most understands their problems and, along with Romney, is seen as the most honest of those running for the nomination. And almost twice as many of Huckabee's supporters said they are "very enthusiastic" about his candidacy than did Romney's.

But Huckabee came in fifth on the question of who has the experience to be president and also ranked low when voters were asked who has the best chance of getting elected.

Steve Scheffler, who heads the Iowa Christian Alliance and is a veteran of three previous presidential campaigns in the state, said he wonders whether Huckabee has the resources to make sure his supporters show up for the caucuses on Jan. 3. Only about 100,000 of Iowa's 3 million residents are expected to vote in the GOP caucuses.

"Does he have the staff to identify more of those people and actually deliver people to the caucus?" asked Scheffler, who is neutral in the primary. Even if he wins, "where does he go after that with no money?"