Huckabee builds evangelical support

By David Jackson - USA Today
Monday, November 05, 2007 - Web Link
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November 5, 2007

PLANO, Texas — As the 2008 presidential race heads toward the first nominating contests, Mike Huckabee is getting more news coverage, moving up in polls, and even drawing some attacks from other Republicans.

Now the former Arkansas governor needs enough money to capitalize.

Despite strong showings in a recent Iowa poll and a straw poll of evangelical voters Oct. 20, Huckabee has struggled to raise money to keep up with Mitt Romney, the Republican fundraising leader, and Rudy Giuliani, who tops national surveys for the nomination.

Huckabee spent the weekend raising money in Texas, his second-largest source of donations from July through September. His appearances at churches in Plano and Irving on Sunday also highlighted a strategy of his long-shot White House bid: building support from evangelical Christians who make up a chunk of Iowa's GOP voters.

"We're really grateful for the prosperity of Texas," Huckabee, a former minister, joked after preaching Sunday at Plano's Prestonwood Baptist Church, north of Dallas.

"Historically, there are three tickets out of Iowa," Huckabee said. "First class, business and coach. If you don't get one of those, you go home freight."