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Huckabee exceeds expectations with 3rd in New Hampshire Wednesday, Jan 9, 2008 By Aaron Sadler Stephens Washington Bureau Huckabee picked up 11 percent of the vote behind winner Sen. John McCain, who had 37 percent, according to incomplete results late Thursday. Mitt Romney, who had 32 percent, was second. With the showing, Huckabee remains alive in a race that moves next week to South Carolina, where he leads in most polls. New Hampshire Republicans - most of them fiscal conservatives - had been unimpressed with Huckabee's record on taxes while he was Arkansas governor. Also, only 3 percent of New Hampshire residents are evangelical Christians, leaving Huckabee without the key bloc that propelled his Iowa caucus win last week. But momentum from the Iowa victory led curious New Englanders to generat big turnouts at campaign events in the Granite State, Huckabee said. And a candidate who was floundering in New Hampshire just a month ago was able to salvage a top-tier finish. "We thought that if we could finish in the top - we kept saying - four or five, we'd feel pretty good about that, knowing just how tough it's been to try to break through," Huckabee said to supporters late Tuesday. "Tonight, you've given us so much more than we could have imagined days or weeks ago." Huckabee said he would have liked a few more days in New Hampshire to cash in on his Iowa victory. Capacity crowds trailed him on every campaign stop, including at an election watch party at a Manchester country club. Supporters shouted "Hallelujah!" as the Southern Baptist minister gave what sounded like a victory speech. A record number of voters were expected to take advantage of near-record high temperatures across New Hampshire to vote in Tuesday's Republican and Democratic primaries. GOP voters awarded 24 delegates. The broad support in the final days of campaigning were an indicator that Huckabee would get the "strong third place" he sought, he said. "We just sensed that we were going to do better than a lot of people thought this old unknown Southern boy could possibly do up here in New England," Huckabee said. He added: "If there's any sadness tonight, it's not where we finished because, frankly, phew! We're pretty happy about it." McCain's win likely sets up a showdown in South Carolina between two candidates known for their humor and straight-talking messages. Romney will try to salvage his presidential bid in his native Michigan, where polls taken before the Iowa caucus had him and Huckabee in a virtual tie. Michigan Republicans vote Jan. 15. Late in the month, the focus shifts to Florida and another formidable opponent stands in the way. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has spent most of his resources in Florida and the dozens of states that vote Feb. 5. Giuliani was fourth Tuesday in New Hampshire. Additionally, former Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., has said he will bump up his campaign in South Carolina in hopes of a strong showing there. Huckabee is scheduled to split time between South Carolina and Michigan in the next week. He kicks off last-minute campaigning in the Palmetto State with rallies in Spartanburg and Greenville today. "In Michigan and South Carolina and Florida, what you helped us continue will be carried right on through and it won't be long until we secure the nomination and on to the White House and on to leading America," Huckabee told his New Hampshire faithful. Campaign advisers consistently denied that Huckabee viewed New Hampshire as a mere stopover ahead of races in states with more receptive voters, despite his struggle to gain traction. He had spent less time and less money in New Hampshire than in Iowa and South Carolina. Advisers acknowledged, though, that McCain and Romney had advantages: McCain won the state's primary in 2000. Romney was governor of neighboring Massachusetts and has a summer home in New Hampshire. At the same time, the top two finishers were in more jeopardy because their connections generated high expectations, said the Rev. Dale Kuehne, a political science professor at Saint Anselm College in Manchester. "No one expected (Huckabee) to win, so it's not the end of the world," Kuehne said. "The media is going to give him a break on not winning because they don't expect it. They won't give him a break if he doesn't win South Carolina." Huckabee's first visit to New Hampshire was Aug. 27, 2005. And his first supporter in the state, campaign co-chairman Cliff Hurst, said he knew the candidate would have a hard fight. "We're doing much better than we thought when we consider the amount of time he's been able to spend here," Hurst said. "We're very excited about how far we've come. For so long, we were only 1, 2 or 3 percent." Huckabee's struggles were tied to his religion, said supporter Greg Legier of Salisbury, N.H. Unlike Huckabee, Legier favors abortion rights and is not religious. He was drawn to Huckabee because he comes across as honest and earnest, he said. Others saw differently. "I think people know him as a Baptist minister and consider him a fringe candidate," Legier said. "They hear that, and they just write him off." |
