Huckabee Aims to Strike Balance

First primary endorsement ever for Focus on Family founder

(NEWSER) - One of the most influential Evangelical Christian leaders in the nation is expected today to endorse Mike Huckabee, providing a major boost to his campaign among conservatives, AP reports. James Dobson, founder of Colorado's Focus on the Family organization, has never before endorsed a Republican presidential candidate during a primary campaign. Dobson has grabbed national headlines with a number of controversial comments, including linking stem cell research to Nazi medical experiments and implying that the cartoon character Sponge Bob Square Pants is gay. More»

Three new studies give berth to Arizona senator

(NEWSER) - John McCain leads the pack in the GOP race for South Carolina, two new polls show, with Mike Huckabee in second place, the State reports. A Reuters/C-Span/Zogby poll updated today gives McCain 29% of voters to Huckabee's 22%; Fred Thompson follows with 14% and Mitt Romney 12%. Clemson University also finds 29% preferring McCain, while Huckabee pulls 22%. Fred Thompson ties Romney for third place at 13%. More»

Huckabee rises on support of party's evangelical wing as Giuliani slips in national poll

(NEWSER) - With the first voting three weeks away, Republicans across the country remain fragmented among five leading candidates, but a new poll shows marked gains for Mike Huckabee. Rudy Giuliani still leads the pack with 25% support, but Huckabee's Iowa surge is moving to the national stage, where he has risen to 19% from 9% in early November, the Washington Post reports. More»

(NEWSER) - Sam Brownback will withdraw from the GOP primaries as early as tomorrow, sources tell the AP. The conservative senator’s fundraising abilities apparently didn't keep pace with his presidential ambitions; his campaign reported raising only $800,000 in the third quarter. “I know Senator Brownback enjoyed campaigning and meeting new people and talking about ideas,” the source said, “but I think it came down to money.” More»

Texas evangelicals spurn hometown favorite Newt Gingrich

(AP) - Rick Santorum's quest to emerge as the conservative alternative to Mitt Romney received a boost today from a group of evangelicals and others who voted to back his candidacy in a last-ditch effort to stop the front-runner's march to the nomination. About 150 social conservatives meeting in Texas sided with Santorum over a home-state favorite, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. More»