Huckabee gets lift from Iowa GOP

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By Dan Gearino | Thursday, January 03, 2008 |

DES MOINES — Iowa Republicans gave Mike Huckabee an improbable caucus victory Thursday night, propelling the former Arkansas governor over a series of better-funded opponents.

With 86 percent of precincts reporting, Huckabee had 34 percent of votes cast, topping former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, who had 25 percent.

“Tonight, what we have seen is a new day in American politics,” Huckabee said, addressing an overflow crowd at a downtown Des Moines hotel.

Former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee and U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona were virtually tied at 13 percent, with Thompson ahead by just a few hundred votes; U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas was fifth with 10 percent; former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani was sixth with 4 percent; and U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter of California was seventh with less than 1 percent.

An estimated 120,000 Republicans participated, which is a record high.

Huckabee displayed the glow of someone who has strained for months for a prize, and against long odds, won.

“Tonight, we prove that American politics still is in the hands of ordinary folks like you across this country who believe that it wasn’t about who raised the most money, but who raised the greatest hopes, dreams and aspirations,” he said.

Huckabee’s victory party was a spare affair, with a spread of two kinds of chips and dip. The closest thing to star power was provided by actor Chuck Norris, who stood behind Huckabee onstage.

Across town, Mitt Romney conceded defeat, joined by his wife, Ann, and their sons.

“Our boys will never forget Iowa,” Ann Romney said.

Earlier in the night, Romney supporters watched the results come in on wide-screen LCD monitors. The crowd’s giant foam hand “mitts” drooped lower by the minute.

Huckabee, a former Baptist minister, won support from Iowa’s evangelical Christians. He described himself as a “Christian leader” and took firm positions against abortion and gay marriage.

Huckabee’s rise displaced Romney, who was atop Iowa polls for much of the year. Romney had the largest staff and spent the most money in the state of any Republican candidate. Huckabee boasted that he was outspent by Romney 15-to-1 in Iowa, although actual spending figures are not yet available.

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said he was surprised to see the candidate with the best organization — Romney — come up short. He said Huckabee made up for his campaign’s shortcomings with a winning personality.

“He kind of fit in with Midwesterners,” Grassley said.

Romney cast a wide net. He touted his experience as a corporate executive to gain support from fiscal conservatives, and he tried to win over social conservatives with his opposition to abortion.

But Romney’s opponents raised questions about his sincerity. They pointed to his changing positions on social issues and said he was untrustworthy. His Mormon faith was also a negative factor with some voters.

Romney sought to drive down Huckabee with ads alleging Huckabee wasn’t conservative enough on immigration, taxes or crime. In response, Huckabee prepared his own attack ad early this week, but he scrapped it and said he needed to stay positive to be true to himself.

Iowa GOP Chairman Ray Hoffmann said one lesson from the results may be that candidates don’t need to go negative to win.

“People are tired of dirty advertisements,” he said.

Giuliani’s second-to-last-place finish casts doubt on his status as a leader in national polls. He chose to focus his time and money on larger states that hold later nominating contests, such as Florida.

“I would have liked to see him spend more time here, but not at the expense of his 50-state strategy,” said Sen. Jeff Angelo, R-Creston, a member of Giuliani’s Iowa leadership team.

Huckabee hopes his strong showing will help him raise enough money to expand beyond his shoestring operation.

“Wherever it ends — and we know where that’s going to be — we know it started in Iowa,” he said.

Justin Schardin contributed to this story. Dan Gearino can be contacted at (515) 243-0138 and dan.gearino@lee.net.