Last time around our lad Willard (that's Mitt Romney to the uninformed) finished a rather distant second to Mike Huckabee, short by nearly 10%. The 'next-in-line' candidate went on to finish third in the overall nominee race with John 'call me Maverick' McCain taking on Obama and selling his soul down the river in the process. Needs must...
Showing posts with label mike huckabee. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mike huckabee. Show all posts
Monday, 2 January 2012
Tuesday, 17 May 2011
Mike Huckabee is Out
Another one pulls up before the race even starts. Mike Huckabee joins Haley Barbour as two big Republican heavyweights who have decided not to run for the GOP nomination. Huckabee's decision is particularly surprising considering he has positioned himself well throughout the campaign so far.
There were rumours a couple of weeks ago that Huckabee might not be running and he had taken his foot of the gas somewhat as it was clear his campaign was at a much lower tempo than his rivals when. He had lost out on some key hires for his Iowa campaign team.
“All the factors say go,” Huckabee said in his Fox News Channel show. “But my heart says no.” Huckabee's withdrawal flings the campaign further open amongst grassroots conservatives as this was certainly the group from which he drew most support. Undoubtedly, he now makes a strong choice for running mate when the time comes.
One also has to question if the window is now closing for Huckabee. Should he run in four years time he would likely encounter one Sarah Palin, who seems unlikely to run this year, and this would result in a serious tussle for the votes of the socially conservative base. It really seems now rather than later is Huckabee's best opportunity to challenge for the highest office in the land.
There were rumours a couple of weeks ago that Huckabee might not be running and he had taken his foot of the gas somewhat as it was clear his campaign was at a much lower tempo than his rivals when. He had lost out on some key hires for his Iowa campaign team.
“All the factors say go,” Huckabee said in his Fox News Channel show. “But my heart says no.” Huckabee's withdrawal flings the campaign further open amongst grassroots conservatives as this was certainly the group from which he drew most support. Undoubtedly, he now makes a strong choice for running mate when the time comes.
One also has to question if the window is now closing for Huckabee. Should he run in four years time he would likely encounter one Sarah Palin, who seems unlikely to run this year, and this would result in a serious tussle for the votes of the socially conservative base. It really seems now rather than later is Huckabee's best opportunity to challenge for the highest office in the land.
Saturday, 7 May 2011
The Prospective GOP Field
Whilst Gary Johnson and Fred Karger remain the only 2 legitimate politicians to declare their candidacy for the Republican nomination the following are prospective nominees that we can expect decisions from in the coming weeks:
This is not a comprehensive list of all the possible nominees but it is a list of all those who have any kind of legitimate shot at the nomination that have either expressed intention to run or are widely speculated to do so. (Bold type constitutes the widely regarded heavyweights within the party.) Santorum could be added to this list because much of his career has been prolific except for the fact that he suffered a humiliating and colossal defeat in his 2006 Senate campaign. Since then his career has somewhat stalled whilst Gingrich was one of the most high profile Speakers in American history because of his famous bust-ups with Bill Clinton but since his resignation in 1999 he has yet to recapture those previous heights.
Gingrich is expected to announce as early as the start of next week whilst Bachmann and Trump have said they will make their minds up by June. However, it is Mike Huckabee whose nomination will be followed most closely as he is no doubt a heavy-weight contender that has done everything expected of a nominee except promptly declare. Pawlenty and Romney are heavyweights that are certain to run whilst the smart money would be on Palin not to and wait 4 years.
The Republican field is slowly taking shape but at the moment what we are seeing is a really big game of chicken. Once a heavyweight candidate declares the rest will promptly follow suit but until then the prospective candidates jostle for pole position. Think of it in terms of the start of the Grand National at Aintree, although only the first 30 seconds of the video are relevant, it was a good race anyway.
- Michele Bachmann - Minnesota Representative, prominent Tea Party member
- John Bolton - former UN aambassador, considered a neo-conservative
- Mitch Daniels - Governor of Indiana, more of a fiscal conservative
- Newt Gingrich - former Speaker, orchestrated 1994 Contract with America
- Rudy Giuliani - Mayor of New York during 9/11, failed 2008 candidate
- Mike Huckabee - former Governor of Arkansas, social conservative
- Jon Huntsman, Jr. - former Governor of Utah. former ambassador to China
- Sarah Palin - running mate in 2008, social conservative, grassroots darling
- Ron Paul - iconic libertarian Republican, fiscal conservative, evergreen
- Tim Pawlenty - former 1-term Governor of Minnesota, social conservative
- Buddy Roemer - former Governor of Louisiana, was a Democrat
- Mitt Romney - former Governor of Massachusetts, health-care reformer
- Rick Santorum - former Pennsylvania Senator, social conservative
- Donald Trump, Sr. - multi-millionaire businessman, quasi-celebrity, PR stunt?
This is not a comprehensive list of all the possible nominees but it is a list of all those who have any kind of legitimate shot at the nomination that have either expressed intention to run or are widely speculated to do so. (Bold type constitutes the widely regarded heavyweights within the party.) Santorum could be added to this list because much of his career has been prolific except for the fact that he suffered a humiliating and colossal defeat in his 2006 Senate campaign. Since then his career has somewhat stalled whilst Gingrich was one of the most high profile Speakers in American history because of his famous bust-ups with Bill Clinton but since his resignation in 1999 he has yet to recapture those previous heights.
Gingrich is expected to announce as early as the start of next week whilst Bachmann and Trump have said they will make their minds up by June. However, it is Mike Huckabee whose nomination will be followed most closely as he is no doubt a heavy-weight contender that has done everything expected of a nominee except promptly declare. Pawlenty and Romney are heavyweights that are certain to run whilst the smart money would be on Palin not to and wait 4 years.
The Republican field is slowly taking shape but at the moment what we are seeing is a really big game of chicken. Once a heavyweight candidate declares the rest will promptly follow suit but until then the prospective candidates jostle for pole position. Think of it in terms of the start of the Grand National at Aintree, although only the first 30 seconds of the video are relevant, it was a good race anyway.
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