With former Gov. Mitt Romney, R-Mass., announcing on Friday that he will not run for the Republican presidential nomination, former Gov. Jeb Bush, R-Fla., looks strong in Florida, the largest swing state in the Electoral College and, traditionally, the first large state to hold its presidential primary after Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina cast their votes. But other Republicans looking at running in 2016 put Bush on notice this weekend that they are also looking at Florida.
Former Gov. Mike Huckabee, R-Ark., who increasingly looks like a candidate in 2016, hit the Sunshine State this weekend, visiting Sarasota and Fort Myers as part of his book tour on Saturday and speaking at First Baptist Church in downtown Jacksonville on Sunday. Huckabee moved to the Panhandle after his 2008 presidential bid and kicked off his book tour in Destin last month.
In Sarasota, Huckabee talked to the Sarasota Herald Tribune and said he would focus more on Florida if he runs than he did in 2008 when he took fourth place behind U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
Speaking in Jacksonville on Sunday morning, Huckabee called for Christians to remain active in the public square, insisting they can make a difference in American politics. Playing up themes in his new book, Huckabee insisted there was a major disconnect between cultural liberals on the coasts and conservatives in the American heartland. Huckabee also came out swinging at the U.S. Supreme Court and efforts to make same-sex marriage the law of the land.
Earlier in the day, Huckabee appeared on CNNs State of the Union and made his case against same-sex marriage.
"This is not just a political issue, Huckabee said. It is a biblical issue. And as a biblical issue -- unless I get a new version of the scriptures, it's really is not my place to say, OK, I'm just going to evolve.
"It's like asking someone who's Jewish to start serving bacon-wrapped shrimp in their deli, Huckabee added. We don't want to do that -- I mean, we're not going to do that. Or like asking a Muslim to serve up something that is offensive to him, or to have dogs in his backyard.
"We're so sensitive to make sure we don't offend certain religions, but then we act like Christians can't have the convictions that they've had for 2,000 years," Huckabee said.
Huckabee also played up populist themes this weekend, hitting President Barack Obama on economic issues.
Were hearing a lot of talk about the middle class, as if theyre some newly-discovered endangered species, Huckabee noted at the end of last week. Well, the middle class is shrinking, but thats nothing new. An analysis by the New York Times found that the middle class has been shrinking for the past century. The difference is that up until around 2000, it was shrinking because Americans were succeeding and rising out of it. Now, its shrinking because Americans are making less money and falling out of it. Its even worse for the black middle class: over 14 percent of black homeowners are underwater on their mortgages, compared to 5.5 percent of white homeowners. President Obama came into office with his party in complete control. They chose to focus on more benefits for the poor and bailing out Wall Street. Six years later, Obamas finally discovered the middle class, but his proposals to help them wont move a now-Republican Congress that believes his solutions will just make things worse. Maybe things will change in two years, maybe not. Either way, the middle class will just have to find a way to keep on hanging in there without government help. At least, its something theyre good at. Theyve been doing it for a long time now.
But Huckabee is not the only potential Republican candidate looking to make a play in the Sunshine State. Over the weekend, it was announced that U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., will be headed to Florida at the end of next week at a rally held by the Sarasota County GOP.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
