Can Huckabee raise the money to build on his Iowa success?

This is a picture of the rail road station in Hope, Arkansas – a small town that calls itself a city and has a population of just 10,467. Just about its only claim fame is that it is the birth-place of the Bill Clinton, who, of course, went on to become state governor before running successfully for the White House in 1992 and 1996.

Extraordinarily Hope is also the birth-place of the current fourth favourite in the race to get the Republican nomination and another former state governor, Mick Mike Huckabee.

Huckabee is a baptist minister and represents the socially conservative wing of the party that has found the thrice-married Rudi Giuliani and the Mormon, Mitt Romney a bit hard to swallow. The other candidate who is aiming at this section of the party is the ex movie actor and senator, Fred Thompson who has yet to declare that he is running.

In the past few days all the media focus has been on him following his second place, with a respectable 18%, in the Ames Straw Poll. Judging by the coverage he’s the candidate that the media seems to be liking at the moment – helped by his self depracating sense of humour that seems to be going down very well.

His challenge is that his fundraising, so far, has been abysmal and unless he can match the millions of the other front runners then he simply is not going to make it. The next week or so could be critical as he seeks to build on last weekend’s success.

In many ways he seems the right man for the times and a lot could depend on what happens to Fred Thompson. I’ve got a small amount on at 60/1 that might yet prove profitable.

Mike Smithson