Huckabee: 'A new day in American politics'

DES MOINES -- Long-shot Republican candidate Mike Huckabee declared "a new day in American politics" Thursday after riding strong support from evangelical Christians into a decisive victory in the Iowa caucuses.

Huckabee, an ordained Baptist minister and, like Bill Clinton, a native of Hope, Ark., managed to win despite trailing badly in national polls for most of the year. He out-hustled runner-up Mitt Romney and better-known candidates John McCain, Fred Thompson and Rudy Giuliani with a coalition of pastors, home schooling adherents, gun rights advocates and supporters of a new national tax system.

"This election is not about me. It's about we," the former Arkansas governor told supporters here. He said the victory would ignite "a prairie fire of new hope and zeal."

The victory makes Huckabee a serious contender for the Republican presidential nomination. That was confirmed instantly Thursday night when the Democratic National Committee's website headlined, "Mike's Win Means More of the Same … Huckabee Promises Third Bush Term."

Now, he moves on to New Hampshire, where Romney and McCain are battling for the lead in the nation's first primary Tuesday. He was scheduled to appear there today with actor Chuck Norris and to play his bass with a local band, Mama Kicks.

Ed Rollins, Huckabee's national campaign chairman, said the dramatic win proves that "we have basically moved ourselves to the front of this campaign."

Romney congratulated Huckabee before a crowd of subdued supporters. "Well, we won the silver," said the former Winter Olympics CEO, but pledged "to come back and win the gold in the final."

His spokesman, Kevin Madden, credited Huckabee's victory to "core evangelical voters" but said Romney's second-place finish makes the former Massachusetts governor competitive in the weeks to come. "New Hampshire will essentially be a new race," Madden said.

Romney is a favorite in New Hampshire, which is his neighboring state. But he faces a major challenge there from McCain, the Arizona senator who has grabbed the lead in some recent Granite State polls.

Romney adviser Ron Kaufman said the campaign is organized in all the early states, not just New Hampshire, Michigan and South Carolina but with lesser-known GOP contests in Nevada and Wyoming. "We're the only one competitive everywhere," Kaufman said.

In New Hampshire, McCain said the lesson is that "you can't buy an election in Iowa" and that "negative campaigns don't work. They don't work there, and they don't work here in New Hampshire."

Giuliani, the leader for most of last year in national polls, finished sixth in Iowa and isn't very competitive in New Hampshire. He congratulated Huckabee from Florida, where he is focusing on the state's Jan. 29 primary. "I believe I can carry out a 50-state strategy and contest in states that other Republicans can't," he said.

Romney spent a year building an Iowa organization that vaulted him to the top of public opinion polls; Huckabee had overtaken him in recent weeks, however, by appealing largely to Iowa's large numbers of evangelical Christians.

Their contest recently got tense, as Huckabee accused Romney of dishonestly attacking his record as Arkansas governor. On his last day of campaigning, Huckabee appeared to go after Romney's experience with a venture capital firm that specialized in re-organizing and sometimes downsizing struggling companies.

"I think sometimes the reason that our campaign is catching fire," Huckabee said in Burlington, "is because people had rather elect a president who reminds him of the guy they work with — not the guy that laid them off."

Susan Geddes, a former Huckabee volunteer who became coordinator for a 14-county area, cited turnout from "social conservatives" who also liked his positions on protecting the border and keeping taxes low. "He's been consistent for all the years he's been a public servant," added Geddes, a home-school teacher who caucused at a church in Martensdale.

Romney, Huckabee and other Republicans made their final pitches in Iowa as campaign staffs began preparing in earnest for the New Hampshire primary Tuesday.

McCain and Thompson, who were battling for third place in Iowa, and Rudy Giuliani and Ron Paul are all looking for momentum before what figures to be the busiest political month in history, leading to a slew of big-state primaries on Feb. 5.

Relegated to underdog status after firing most of his senior staff last year, McCain has fought back by emphasizing national security issues and pursuing the independent voters who helped him win the New Hampshire primary over George W. Bush in 2000.

McCain returned to Iowa late Wednesday afternoon for a quick series of events before returning to New Hampshire, where he guaranteed a victory.

"Oh, yes," he said, when asked whether he expected to win New Hampshire. "Not expect. We will win."

Thompson, the actor and former Tennessee senator, campaigned in the face of news reports that a poor showing in Iowa would force him to drop out of the race. Thompson denied the story published in Politico.com, which also said he plans to endorse his friend McCain.

Giuliani did not spend much time in Iowa. The former New York City mayor instead focused on contests that come later, including New York, California and other large states on Feb. 5.

Contributing: Richard Wolf