Huckabee Makes His Move

I told you he was going to gain steam. Huckabee just finished 2nd in Iowa straw poll with 18.1% of the vote:

Gov Mitt Romney won the 2007 Ames straw poll, receiving 4516 votes, or 31%.

In a surprise, Gov. Mike Huckabee finished second with 2587 votes at 18.1%

11. John Cox with 41 votes.
10. John McCain with 101 votes.
9. Duncan Hunter with 174 votes.
8. Rudy Giuliani with 183 votes.
7. Fred Thomson with 231 votes.
6. Tommy Thompson, 1,009 votes, 7.3%
5. Ron Paul with 1305 votes, and 9.1%
4. Tom Tancredo with 1961 votes, 13.7%.
3. Sen. Sam Brownback with 2192 votes and 15.3%

Iowa state auditor David Vaudt unofficially certified the results.

14,203 ballots were cast.

It's important to note that Giuliani and McCain did not officially take part in the straw poll which is essentially a fundraiser for the Iowa Republican Party. However, a poor showing for 2nd tier candidates here can cause the campaign to re-evaluate and drop out of the race.

This 2nd place finish should give Huckabee more press coverage and some much-needed campaign cash. I see this Republican primary shaping up as a battle between the DC establishment and a southern conservative populist. I still think the populist message is going to be tough to beat...