Carolina on His Mind: Huckabee Heads South

GREENVILLE, S.C., Jan. 9, 2008 — -- A smiling, admittedly chubbier Mike Huckabee returned to Southern terrain for the first time since his underdog victory in the Iowa caucuses and third-place showing in New Hampshire, feeling good about his chances in the Palmetto State, which on Jan. 19 will be the first Southern state to hold a presidential primary campaign.

"Certainly there's a deep connection I have with people in the South," said the former governor of Arkansas. "There's a greater familiarity."

Huckabee's stunning Iowa victory Jan. 3 — largely because of the support of his fellow evangelicals, who made up 60 percent of GOP caucus goers — was followed by a third-place finish Tuesday night in New Hampshire, behind Huckabee nemesis and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and, in first place, Arizona Sen. John McCain.

Exit polls indicated that McCain and Huckabee were essentially tied among evangelicals in New Hampshire. A reporter pointed out to Huckabee that that trend cannot continue in South Carolina if he wants to win here.

"Probably won't," he said with a smile.

"Anybody is going to get a bump out of winning," said Huckabee, who only a few weeks ago was polling in sixth place in the Granite State. "But I think my bump is that I came in ahead of Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson, both of whom should have had far better numbers. And I mean Rudy's been there a lot longer, he's certainly a more known quantity than me in New Hampshire, had a big organization, had a lot of really key high-profile people behind him."

Huckabee admitted he spent some of his time in the Live Free or Die state watching the showdown between Sens. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and Barack Obama, D-Ill.

"I thought it was a fascinating race to watch," he said, reminding reporters on his charter plane that when he was asked for a response to Clinton's teary response to a voter's question, he was sympathetic.

Today, a day after Clinton's win, he suggested that the episode had boosted Clinton's showing.