[4] He came in second at the onsite polling of the Family Research Council Values Voters Summit on October 21, 2007, with 28% of the vote, and garnered a celebrity endorsement from actor Chuck Norris.

[8] After losing the Texas primary in March, however, Huckabee officially ended his campaign and conceded the race to U.S. senator John McCain.

[9] On January 27, 2007, the Associated Press reported that Huckabee planned to file papers to form a presidential exploratory committee.

[16] On April 23, 2007, Huckabee finished second in a South Carolina straw poll conducted by the local Republican parties in Greenville, Spartanburg and Richland counties with 111 votes behind former Massachusetts Gov.

Huckabee expressed support of a FairTax, a balanced budget with reduced spending, making the Bush administration's 2001 and 2003 tax cuts permanent, combating climate change, and comprehensive immigration reform.

An Iowa poll conducted in mid-June showed Huckabee in fourth place with 7 percent; ahead of John McCain and Sam Brownback.

In a July 9, 2007, interview, Huckabee said that his solution for ending the ongoing violence in Iraq would include a troop increase and seeking additional support from other nations in the Middle East.

[25] He was a guest on Fox News' 'The Neal Cavuto Show' on Friday, July 20, and then returned to Iowa for numerous Meet Mike Huckabee events.

[28] In the summer of 2007, Huckabee began to become closely compared to Kansas Senator Sam Brownback, also a Presidential candidate, for their similar socially conservative views.

Other sources have expressed concern that there is room for only one of them in the race, and that if Huckabee comes out on top, Brownback will struggle to raise money and vice versa.

In early August, after the collapse of the I-35W Mississippi River bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Huckabee expressed his sympathy to the victims of the disaster and said that taxes do not need to be raised in order to fix the roads, bridges, and other infrastructure, claiming that the billions of dollars spent on other countries' infrastructure should be spent in the United States.

Colbert jokingly attributed Huckabee's success in the Ames Straw Poll to "the Colbert bump" in reference to Huckabee's two prior appearances on the show[46] while Maher remarked, "Rudy Giuliani scares the hell out of me so I hope you win, and the good news for you, on your birthday, is that this year a Republican dark horse could win."

Further evidence of his growing prominence was seen the next day, when during a Democratic rally, Jesse Jackson was asked about his opinion of the "four Republican front-runners" and responded with "I tell y'all, don't ever forget about Mike Huckabee!"

Huckabee starred in what pundits called the highlight of the New Hampshire Republican Debate on September 5, sparring with Congressman Ron Paul in a heated exchange over the war in Iraq and the United States' obligation to the Iraqi people.

"[47] As the third quarter closed, Huckabee was reported to have missed a major GOP conference in Michigan because his campaign could not afford a charter flight.

[49] In late September, Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and former President Bill Clinton said in separate interviews that Huckabee will catch on with Republican primary voters, and called him most likely "dark horse" candidate to win.

Huckabee stated in 1992, "I feel [homosexuality] is an aberrant, unnatural, and sinful lifestyle, and we now know it can pose a dangerous public health risk."

"[64] Roy Beck called Huckabee "an absolute disaster as governor of Arkansas... Every time there was any enforcement in his state, he took the side of the illegal aliens."

[76] Backers of rival John McCain threw him their support to prevent Mitt Romney from capturing the winner-take-all GOP state convention vote.

If she's president, taxes go up, healthcare becomes the domain of the government, spending goes out of control, our military loses its morale, and I'm not sure we'll have the courage and the will and the resolve to fight the greatest threat this country's ever faced in Islamofascism.

"[91] Huckabee received further criticism in early January 2008 when, having previously agreed to try to work with unions if elected,[92] he then crossed a WGA Writer's Strike picket line in order to appear on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

"I share your view of the debates and agree that Newt's 'Nine Nineties in Nine' concept is a far better way to make sure America's next President has the character and capacity to lead our nation forward, and that's why I have already signed that pledge," Huckabee wrote in his letter.

[110] Huckabee posted the letter on his campaign site and invited American voters to co-sign it as an appeal to Thompson to accept the challenge.

[111] On September 11, the media reported that Thompson campaign had turned down the challenge, saying that they would "push hard for Lincoln-Douglas style debates once [they] get into the General Election, when there are only two candidates running.

Mike Huckabee generated a considerable following of young voters, primarily because of his support of the Fair Tax as well as his concerns about global warming, education, and several other issues typically not referred to by Republicans.

Huck's Army, an online grassroots coalition and volunteer think tank, is largely composed of younger, more technologically savvy adherents.

"Hucksamy - Blog chia sẻ kỹ năng sống, kỹ năng sinh tồn cần thiết Huckabee has also gained considerable popularity from his frequent appearances on The Daily Show, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and The Colbert Report, all of which have considerably younger viewers.

[119] On February 23, 2008, Huckabee appeared on the Weekend Update portion of Saturday Night Live to explain why he was still in the election despite the "mathematical impossibility" of him winning the nomination.

[121] The endorsers cited Huckabee's record on life, education, minorities, the economy, the prison system, and immigration as Arkansas governor.

[122] Governor Huckabee's notable endorsements included five current United States congressmen (including former presidential candidate Duncan Hunter),[123] conservative leaders such as Focus on the Family chairman James Dobson,[158] Minuteman Project founder Jim Gilchrist,[159] Liberty University chancellor Jerry Falwell, Jr.,[145] and Libertarian talk-radio host Neal Boortz.