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Huckabee hunts for votes in nation's first primary Tuesday, Jan 8, 2008 By Aaron Sadler Stephens Washington Bureau CONCORD, N.H. - Dave Perrin knows he wants a straight shooter to lead the country, even if he's not quite straight yet on who that may be. "Ask me that tomorrow at 9 o'clock, after I've voted," Perrin said Monday as he and a buddy watched Mike Huckabee enter a crowded downtown Concord restaurant. Huckabee and other presidential contenders scrambled Monday to shore up support from Perrin and other undecided New Hampshire voters on the eve of the state's presidential primary. Undecided voters are aplenty in New Hampshire, where the plurality of residents are not affiliated with either major party. Perrin said he thinks both Huckabee and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., are sincere enough to earn his support. He was quick to defend his indecisiveness. "I would call it open-mindedness myself," said Perrin, who lives in the village of Contoocook. "It's up to me to figure out which one is telling the most truth." Huckabee has garnered a reputation as being earnest and forthright on the campaign trail, and Perrin said he also admires the Arkansan's tax policy. McCain can credit his "straight talk" in 2000 for his New Hampshire primary win eight years ago. His familiarity with the state has him ahead of the Republican pack in almost every poll. "Huckabee comes across as a very sincere type of guy," said John Brookfield, of Hopkinton, N.H. "There are very few in this election that are that way." Huckabee may not have much sway with the fiercely independent New Hampshire electorate, if only because he is new to voters, said one Granite State political expert. His victory in last week's Iowa caucuses forced GOP voters to begin to take him seriously, said Dale Kuehne, politics professor at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H. "He flashed on to the national scene last Thursday night and in New Hampshire and across the country people are saying, 'Who is this guy?'" Kuehne said. "He doesn't have a lot of name recognition up here, but people in New Hampshire are more than ready to give him a look." New Hampshire residents appear to be listening to Huckabee. At a rally with actor Chuck Norris at a Mason, N.H., pancake house, the candidate spoke in two shifts to accomodate the 800 people who woke up early to attend. Huckabee paid tribute to New Hampshire's "Live Free or Die" motto and history of being first, from declaring its independence in colonial times to holding the nation's first primary. "I hope you're also going to be (first) tomorrow, going out there and proving you're also the first people having a primary that believe Mike Huckabee ought to be the next president of the United States," Huckabee said. Most polls show Huckabee in third place, well behind McCain and Mitt Romney in the state. The latest poll conducted by CNN and television station WMUR had Huckabee at 13 percent. McCain was at 31 percent, followed by Romney at 26 percent. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, were tied for fourth at 10 percent. Huckabee campaign officials said he would be satisfied with third place in the nation's first primary. They figure that would help retain some momentum leading to primaries Jan. 15 in Michigan and Jan. 19 in South Carolina. "Everybody had us at fourth, fifth or sixth," campaign adviser Bob Vander Plaats said. "But now, it's third. I'd like to have a strong third, I'll tell you that." The New Hampshire secretary of state has estimated more than 500,000 people will vote in Democratic and Republican presidential primaries - about 60 percent of the total number of registered voters in the state. At stake for GOP hopefuls are 24 delegates to the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., in September. But more important comes the glow of a winner. Romney, from neighboring Massachusetts, has outspent all his opponents combined on television advertising on the only statewide television station. According to Dante Scala, a professor at the University of New Hampshire, Romney has bought $3.9 million in ads on WMUR. Huckabee's ad buy on that station was at $160,000. "No one expects him to win here (today), so if he doesn't win here (today) it's not the end of the world," Kuehne said. A massive bloc of evangelical voters carried the Southern Baptist minister to an upset of the better-appointed Romney in Iowa. Evangelicals won't be a factor in New Hampshire. They make up just 3 percent of the population said Kuehne, who is also minister of an evangelical church. More importantly for Huckabee, though, Kuehne said evangelical ties will not hurt either. "(Voters) are finding him to be a serious candidate," Kuehne said. "He's not running for pope. He doesn't, nor should he, pretend that he's not a Baptist minister." Vander Plaats, who was chairman of Huckabee's campaign in Iowa, said the candidate is repeating essentially the same message in Iowa as in New Hampshire. Much of Huckabee's focus has been on gun rights and freedom of speech, Vander Plaats said. "Evangelicals were a great base for us in Iowa, but the Second Amendment sold, the Fair Tax sold, the anti-establishment sold, as well as just fresh leadership with a person who can articulate a message," Vander Plaats said. Vander Plaats was encouraged by crowded Huckabee appearances. One event Monday at a Concord restaurant was so packed that even reporters were turned away. There, proprietors of The Barley House restaurant introduced the "Huckaburger." The sandwich is made of lean ground bison meat in honor of Huckabee, who shed more than 100 pounds several years ago. Huckabee has had his share of hecklers on the campaign trail, too. The anti-Huckabee groups that have dogged him in New Hampshire are an illustration of the freedom-loving state, Vander Plaats maintained. In Concord, Paul supporters tried to out-shout Huckabee fans with chants of "Tax Hike Mike!" Romney in particular has castigated Huckabee for $500 million in additional taxes levied in Arkansas during Huckabee's decade as governor. The Associated Press contributed to this report. |
