Looking Back; Looking Ahead

I think a reminder of just how far Governor Huckabee has come is in order.

Looking Back

In January 2007, a Rasmussen National Poll for the Republican Nomination put Mike Huckabee with 1%

Roughly one year later, the weekly average for the Nomination put Mike Huckabee in a much better position. Over the most recent 7 week period, Mike Huckabee has either led, or been in serious contention, in the tracking poll.

To be clear, Governor Huckabee's numbers might significantly change due to the South Carolin Primary Results. But even if they do, Governor Huckabee has made an amazing showing thus far. And yes, we did say "thus far." If the past is any indication, Governor Huckabee will be marginalized and written off by both the media and the other candidates seeking the office. And, if the past is any indication, Governor Huckabee will continue to surprise.

Looking Ahead

Now we are heading into the Florida primary, and on to Super Tuesday. Tennessee is a Super Tuesday state, and we plan on helping Governor Huckabee do well in this state.

We received an email from the campaign reflecting on the race so far, and laying out the strategy for the future. We fall into the Super Tuesday portion of the strategy, and the campaign has laid out the following goal for the Super Tuesday states.

1. Launch of online headquarters in every Super Tuesday primary state. We will need bloggers in each state to help organize our grassroots efforts. We will send state specific emails discussing our goals in each state.

We are pleased to help in this effort. We ask fellow Tennesseans to help us.

Northeast Tennesseans

Three ways that Northeastern Tennesseans can help is to:

1. Join our Meetup group (Very Important)
2. Attend our next meeting
3. Sign up at our Northeast Tennessee Grassroots Headquarters

Huckabee Wins; Update: More Folks Calling it for Huckabee

Fox , NBC, and CNN all project that Huckabee has won Iowa! We're waiting on the final numbers, but currently with 93% of precincts reporting, it stands thusly:

1. Huckabee: 34%
2. Romney: 25%
3. Thompson: 13%
4. McCain: 13%
5. Paul: 10%
6. Giuliani: 3%
7. Hunter: 0%

We'll try to keep this updated as the news comes in.

Huckabee Leads in Florida

Rasmussen just released its latest polling numbers for Florida. The breakdown is as follows:

1. Mike Huckabee: 27%
2. Mitt Romney: 23%
3. Rudy Giuliani: 19%
4. Fred Thompson: 9%
5. John McCain: 6%
6. Ron Paul: 4%

Gov. Huckabee continues to impress with his continued rise in popularity.

Huckaboom

The polls are coming out so fast it is hard for us to keep up. Here are some notable, recently released polls.

Rasmussen - Iowa (12/10/2007)

The most recent Rasmussen polling in Iowa shows confirms that Mike Huckabee has pulled away in that state for the Republican nomination. The breakdown is as follows:

1. Mike Huckabee: 39%
2. Mitt Romney: 23%
3. Fred Thompson: 9%
4. Rudy Giuliani: 9%
5. John McCain: 6%

Also, in today's daily tracking poll, Rasmussen shows Huckabee regaining the national lead. Here's the breakdown:

1. Mike Huckabee: 23%
2. Rudy Giuliani: 20%
3. Mitt Romney: 14%
4. Fred Thompson: 10%
5. John McCain: 8%

It appears, at least for now, that Huckabee has risen above the high amount of criticism that has been thrown at him in the last week. There are more polls that have been released, and perhaps we will bring attention to those soon.

The Attacks Came Down, and the Polls Went Up

Today's Rasmussen daily tracking poll shows Gov. Huckabee increasing his front-runner status by one percentage point. Here is the breakdown:

1. Mike Huckabee: 22%
2. Rudy Giuliani: 18%
3. Mitt Romney: 13%
4. John McCain: 12%
5. Fred Thompson: 9%

It is likely that these numbers have yet to account for any potential shifts in support since the heavy attacks against the Governor that began on Wednesday. Next week's numbers should give a better idea of how that criticism has affected the Governor's support

Polls, Polls, Polls; Attacks, Attacks, Attacks

There's been so much going on with respect to the Huckabee campaign in just the last two days. We've seen new poll number and new criticisms. We'll do our best to bring these to you. Let's begin with recent poll numbers.

National Poll Numbers

On Tuesday we brought you the Rasmussen national numbers, and suggested that the trend would have Gov. Huckabee surpassing Mayor Giuliani for the national lead by Wednesday. Sure enough, Wednesday's numbers did not disappoint. Today's numbers did not disappoint either. Here's a look at the recent daily numbers since Thanksgiving:

Another national survey also shows good news for Huckabee. A December L.A. Times/Bloomberg National Survey shows that Huckabee has moved into second place nationally for the Republican nomination, 5 percentage points behind poll leader Mayor Giuliani. Here's a look at that poll:

Individual State Poll Numbers

Governor Huckabee has also received some positive polling with respect to the individual state races Recent releases from Arkansas and South Carolina signal that Huckabee's momentum has not faded.

Arkansas

On Wednesday Rasmussen released a poll indicating that Gov. Huckabee has a better chance than Mayor Giuliani to beat Senator Clinton head to head in Arkansas. Here's the breakdown comparing Huckabee to Giuliani:

South Carolina

Rasmussen released a poll today indicating that Mike Huckabee has moved into a quite significant lead in South Carolina. Those results are below.

Bottom Line

Gov. Huckabee has been on the move. He is up in the polls, and some have even referred to him as the front-runner in Iowa and nationally. Corresponding with that success, Huckabee has begun to receive a lot of scrutiny, especially beginning with the stories surrounding his role in paroling Wayne Dumond. It remains to be seen whether such scrutiny will harm his momentum. We'll be watching his poll numbers closely over the next few days to see if Huckabee can rise above the scrutiny.

Huckabee Tied for Lead

We've been fairly busy the last few days. What better way to resume our regular activities than by reporting the latest Rasmussen national poll indicating that Gov. Huckabee is now sharing the lead with Rudy Giuliani nationally in the race for the Republican nomination. Full poll here. Breakdown below.

Given the trend of the last three days, we fully expect to see that Gov. Huckabee will have the sole lead tomorrow.

Huckabee Snatches the Lead in Iowa

Good news for Mike Huckabee today. The latest Rasmussen poll shows him leading in Iowa. Poll is here. Breakdown below.

1. Mike Huckabee: 28%
2. Mitt Romney: 25%
3. Rudy Giuliani: 12%
4. Fred Thompson: 11%

The Washington Post Discovers What We Already Knew

There is another poll out today indicating that Mike Huckabee is a serious contender for first place in the Iowa Caucuses. The poll stacks up this way:

1. Mitt Romney: 28%
2. Mike Huckabee: 24%
3. Fred Thompson: 15%
4. Rudy Giuliani: 13%

The Washington Post compares these numbers to a poll they ran in July, and it is quite telling. See the graphic below:

Another significant finding is the enthusiasm that Huckabee supporters have. From the Post:

But almost half of Huckabee's supporters (48 percent) said they would definitely vote for him in January and only a quarter said there was a good chance that they would change their minds before the caucuses. In contrast, just 29 percent of Romney's backers said they would definitely vote for him, while 42 percent said there was a good chance that they could vote for someone else at the caucuses.

Huckabee truly is poised to upset the entire race for Republican nomination.

Huckabee Poll Surge; Drudge Surprised?

Huckabee surprises Drudge? Check out the screenshot showing Drudge featuring a link to a recent poll showing Huckabee with excellent numbers in Iowa. While Drudge was surprised by this, I most certainly was not.

Drudge featured a headline outlining Governor Huckabee's excellent numbers in Iowa. Drudge refers to a CBS/New York Times poll that shows Huckabee in second place and within striking distance in Iowa. The poll for the Republican candidates broke down thusly:

1. Mitt Romney: 27%
2. Mike Huckabee: 21%
3. Rudy Giuliani: 15%
4. Fred Thompson: 9%

This is excellent news for Governor Huckabee.

Huckabee Now Top Tier

It appears Huckabee is officially in the "top tier" of candidates.

According to Rasmussen Reports, Huckabee is in a virtual tie for 2nd with three other candidates in the national polls.

While the Republican race remains very fluid, voters are starting to pay attention and meaningful trends are starting to take shape. Over the past week, those trends have signaled good news for Mitt Romney, John McCain, and Mike Huckabee while delivering the opposite message to Fred Thompson.

Over the past week Guiliani has remained at the top with around 23% and Romney, McCain, Thompson, and Huckabee area all around 12% to 14%. If you look at the Iowa polls, Huckabee is in second and gaining on Romney.

Rasmussen Reports has been the most accurate polling group over the last two elections.

Dick Morris: Huckabee Can Win in Iowa

Dick Morris writes on Mike Huckabee's chances to win in Iowa.

But Huckabee has no money. Yet, despite a total absence of advertising, he has risen steadily in Iowa from single digits to double digits to second place. Indeed, his lack of funding may be creating a reverse chic, attracting voters who are turned off by the massive hard sell of the other campaigns.

Rasmussen Poll: Huckabee Tied for Third

As promised earlier, new Rasmussen polling data was released today. The poll shows Huckabee in a tie for third place nationally. This is a daily tracking poll, and thus the numbers will likely shift up and down frequently. The trend, though, is the most amazing thing to note. Huckabee has gained 7% since October 1.

1. Rudy Giuliani: 23%
2. Fred Thompson: 17%
3. John McCain/Mike Huckabee: 13%
4. Mitt Romney: 12%

Iowa Hawkeye Poll

Today the University of Iowa Hawkeye Poll released its most recent poll numbers for the Iowa caucuses. Here are the results:

• Mitt Romney: 36.2%
• Rudy Giuliani: 13.1%
• Mike Huckabee: 12.8%
• Fred Thompson: 11.4%
• John McCain: 6%

A summary:

Mitt Romney continues to hold a strong lead in Iowa among candidates seeking the Republican presidential nomination. But Mike Huckabee's Iowa numbers -- buoyed, perhaps, by growing support among Evangelical Christians -- have jumped significantly since August, putting him in a near-tie with Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson, according to a new University of Iowa Hawkeye Poll of likely GOP caucus-goers released today, Monday, Oct. 29, 2007.

Time.com points out that Huckabee's position and success are especially interesting due to the fact that he has only spent $1.7 million. Contrast that with Mitt Romney's $53.6 million and Rudy Giuliani's $30.2 million. Huckabee has moved up from the 2% that he received from the same poll in August. This is truly an amazing feat. Huckabee has increased his support by 1while spending significantly less than the other candidates. This indicates to me the the Governor not only has a message that is resounding with voters, but that he is also able to stretch finances; and that is very impressive in today's money-centric campaign strategies.

The poll also evaluates the Democratic candidates, but who cares about that?

In addition, we should be seeing some more Rasmussen numbers sometime today. We will, of course, discuss those once they are released.

Huckabee Passes Romney in National Poll

Rasmussen Reports released a poll today that shows Governor Huckabee has moved ahead of Governor Mitt Romney for the Republican nomination. The results were as follows:

• Rudy Giuliani: 20%
• Fred Thompson: 19%
• John McCain: 14%
• Mike Huckabee: 12%
• Mitt Romney: 11%

Governor Huckabee continues to stun. Way to go Governor!