September 25, 2007
Mike Huckabee: The RCP Interview
Posted by BLAKE DVORAK
RCP: As a social conservative who recently won the Palmetto State Straw poll, how do you explain trailing candidates like Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson in South Carolina?
Mike Huckabee: Well, the numbers that you're talking about really are reflecting two things. One is the money being spent by the candidates on paid advertisements; two is the amount of exposure they're getting and free media because of their celebrity status. But when we go head-to-head, I end up winning. So for us it's always been about the trajectory of momentum which for us has been upward very consistently and if you look at some of the numbers of the so-called frontrunners, they're polling behind where they themselves were before. Ours have continued to go up, they can continue to level off or slip backwards.
As more people get familiar with me and my message, we end up getting [voters'] support. So it's not really that big of a concern at this stage. January, you know, is a whole different deal. I mean, we're seeing it just as we thought it would play out for us back last January when we started. We knew we were starting at rock bottom and had to just build it on message. And it wouldn't be about that we could lay down as big as check book as some of these other candidates. But our numbers are picking up and the good thing for us is that in the three early states we are in play with all the boys in the big league.
Full Article
Real Clear Politics Interview with Mike Huckabee
