Huckabee Wins Iowa's Republican Caucuses

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The Candidates React: Mike Huckabee

Mike Huckabee addresses his supporters after the Iowa Caucus results filter in.

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For much of the campaign, it seemed as though Huckabee was going nowhere. After raising $1.5 million in the first six months of last year, he was lagging well behind Romney and other candidates.

Aides had long thought that his strong debate performances could help him win and get national media attention, but even that part of the strategy was not working well. "We knew he would do well in the debates if they ever called on him," Wickers said.

So, instead, the Huckabee campaign invested heavily in the straw poll held in Ames, Iowa, in August. Sarah Huckabee, the campaign's field director and the candidate's daughter, spent five weeks organizing support there. Huckabee's second-place showing, helped by support from Christian conservatives, helped launch his surge.

After Romney's aides began seeing evidence that Huckabee was succeeding in winning support in the Christian community, Romney started assailing Huckabee on his record as Arkansas governor, including his support of a bill that would have allowed illegal immigrants to get breaks on college tuition and his record-breaking number of pardons, including the release of 11 convicted murderers.

The attacks led to the most bizarre moment of the campaign: Huckabee announcing this week that he would not run a negative ad that he had prepared against Romney, then playing it for reporters and television cameras, virtually ensuring it would be seen across Iowa.

Staff writer Juliet Eilperin in Manchester, N.H., contributed to this report.