Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee won the Iowa Caucuses in 2008. On the one hand that proves his viability in the state. But his backers worry that it also raises expectations — and his plan not to announce whether he will run for president again until this summer doesn’t ease those concerns.
“I’m not convinced he’s running,” state Sen. Kent Sorenson of Indianola, a key Huckabee backer, told the Des Moines Register.
Huckabee’s 2008 campaign manager Chip Saltsman is now chief of staff for freshman Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN). And his caucus campaign manager Eric Woolson is nervous about the delay.
“It’s going to be too late for some candidates to be successful if they don’t get started soon, and they won’t know it’s too late until it’s already too late,” Woolson said. “I’m not saying they have to formally announce. I’m saying there’s a lot of groundwork that needs to be done, and every day that passes is a day they won’t get back.”
Brian Beutler
Brian Beutler is TPM's senior congressional reporter. Since 2009, he's led coverage of health care reform, Wall Street reform, taxes, the GOP budget, the government shutdown fight, and the debt limit fight. He can be reached at brian@talkingpointsmemo.com.
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