Debate Last GOP Showdown Before Caucuses
On Tuesday, much of the Midwest, including Iowa, was blanketed with snow and freezing rain. Many candidates canceled campaign events and hunkered down, probably happy for an extra day to prepare for the Des Moines Register debates; the Republicans today and the Democrats tomorrow.
Yet for all the bad weather, it's always cheerful these days in Mike Huckabee's Iowa headquarters. NPR's Scott Horsley reports that the former Arkansas governor's dramatic rise in the polls since the summer has heartened state campaign manager Eric Woolson.
"As a result of the poll numbers being up, fundraising is up," Woolson said. "The number of volunteers are up ... It all goes hand in hand. I've never really seen a candidate catch fire like this."
Huckabee seems to have connected with the conservative sweet spot that all the Republican candidates have been courting: a new poll shows that much of his support is coming from weekly churchgoers, evangelicals, and anti-abortion voters. They are worried about the more liberal Rudy Giuliani getting the nomination, and by an Iowa judge's ruling last summer in favor of same-sex marriage.
But longtime frontrunner Mitt Romney's not conceding the field. He launched a new ad yesterday that contrasted his record on immigration (very tough, the ad says) and Huckabee's (labeled not tough enough). But Huckabee was quick to regain his footing, getting the support of some important anti-immigration groups, like the Minutemen.
It will all make for some lively theater today. You can catch the debate on CNN starting at 2 p.m. EST. Our correspondents will also have reports from the site.
12:06 PM ET | 12-12-2007 | permalink
