Am I wrong in assuming Romney loyalists leaked this now in an effort to convince Huck to go back to Fox News?
Possibly, but if so, that would be a mistake on their part. Someone like Huckabee is great for Romney to have around because he eats up the fundie vote that Romney will never ever ever get, while at the same time having a very limited cross-appeal to most other Republicans so it's difficult for him to win the nomination.
Huckabee can kind of "neutralize" the fundie vote, which would dilute the threat of someone (like say, Mike Pence) who can appeal to both fundamentalists and other more economic focused sections of the party.
I disagree. Huckabee is a much different candidate than someone like Carson, Cruz or Santorum. While he has extreme views, he's also very likable and charismatic In fact, according to this Yougov poll (
https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=205810.0), Huckabee is the second most liked candidate among Republicans after Romney himself.
Not to mention, Huckabee is particularly strong in Iowa, a state that he won in 2008 and Romney lost against a much weaker candidate in 2012.
I think Huckabee and Walker are the two most credible conservative candidates this cycle. While Romney and Bush are fighting it out, either one could take advantage of the situation and give them a run for their money.
