How would Huckabee had done in 2012?

[Mehmentum]

Right now he seems to be getting lost in the field.  However, in 2012 he would have basically become Romney's #1 challenger upon entering the race.  Could he have done better than Santorum and Gingrich?

[eric82oslo]

Right now he seems to be getting lost in the field.  However, in 2012 he would have basically become Romney's #1 challenger upon entering the race.  Could he have done better than Santorum and Gingrich?

He would almost certainly have done better than Santorum I believe, simply because with him in the race, Santorum would have gotten a bit lost in Iowa. And without winning or doing great in Iowa, there would be no more momentum for him. Gingrich's surge was due to the debates though, not due to doing particularily well in early states. So his support probably wouldn't have changed as much, though obviously would've been down too.

[Attorney General, LGC Speaker, and Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

Huckabee would have won the nomination.

[dudeabides]

It would have clearly been a Romney Vs. Huckabee race. Huckabee would have won Iowa, and Santorum would have been forced out. Then, Mitt Romney would have won New Hampshire, but then Huckabee would have won South Carolina, with Newt Gingrich ending his campaign after a disappointing second place finish.

Michigan, Romney's native state, wasn't exactly great for Romney in 2012 - he won the primary there 41% to Rick Santorum's 37%. Newt Gingrich had 6%. Huckabee would have won Santorum's supporters plus a majority of Gingrich's voters, he could have won a narrow victory in Michigan.

Huckabee would have won the south, plus with a united conservative electorate behind him, he would have a great chance at winning the nomination by securing victories in midwestern states, like Ohio, that Romney won.

Would he have been the nominee? Probably not. Romney still would have won delegate rich states like California, New York, and Florida. But, Huckabee would have won more than 13 states, the number of states that went for Gingrich or Santorum.

[Fuzzy Bear]

Huckabee would have run well enough to have been Romney's running mate.  There wouldn't have been any question about that.

[Warren 4 Secretary of Everything]

Huckabee would have won the nomination.

Yeah or at least gotten really close.

Huckabee would have run well enough to have been Romney's running mate.  There wouldn't have been any question about that.

It's well established that Huckabee loathed Romney. He wouldn't have accepted the VP slot.

[Blair]

The assumption was that if Romney lost Michigan then he'd of been severely wounded, he ran an awful campaign in the state which included literally turning up 4 days before the Primary saying 'Daddy use to work here'

Regardless of how bad Romney was seen, Huck is just too out of it for the big guns in the GOP to support him. Someone like Mitch Daniels/Christie/Ryan had the support to oust Romney but it would have been interesting to see a split Romney-Huckabee primarys in march.

Probably would have lead to a white Knight entrance by one of the above, or Romney stumbling through

[Fuzzy Bear]

Huckabee would have won the nomination.

Yeah or at least gotten really close.

Huckabee would have run well enough to have been Romney's running mate.  There wouldn't have been any question about that.

It's well established that Huckabee loathed Romney. He wouldn't have accepted the VP slot.

LBJ circa 1960 says "hi".

[Mister Mets]

With Huckabee in the race, Santorum's not winning Iowa, and Gingrich isn't winning South Carolina.

But it's possible that these guys might have split the vote so that Romney would get the nomination faster.

Otherwise Huckabee might be the anti-Romney. I think some of Romney's critics would be on his side faster with the theocratic and more fiscally liberal Huckabee getting support. Huckabee would also have problems with financial support, since he's never been a strong fundraiser.

And then there are the effects of gaffes. Huckabee spends much of his time with likeminded supporters, so he might easily not realize that something he says is going to get a lot of blowback with everyone else.

[Leinad]

But it's possible that these guys might have split the vote so that Romney would get the nomination faster.

This would probably have happened. Santorum beat Romney very narrowly in Iowa, had Huckabee entered the race they probably would've split the vote and Romney won.

[Kingpoleon]

Basically, March 6 is when everyone knows Romney wins it. I forgot to put his victory in Virginia, which is my fault. Sorry.

[Skill and Chance]

Pretty sure he would have won the nomination if ran.  Keep in mind that pre-Akin and Josh Duggar, Huckabee was a very mainstream social conservative in the George W. Bush mold.  He might have avoided imploding over Akin as the GOP nominee with high quality handlers.

[Milquetoast]

What makes Huckabee so special that he wouldn't have been just another face in the long line of anti-Mitts? Besides the fact that he got fat, of course.

[Mister Mets]

What makes Huckabee so special that he wouldn't have been just another face in the long line of anti-Mitts? Besides the fact that he got fat, of course.

As the winner of the 2008 Iowa caucus, he would have been the most prominent anti-Mitt.

[Green Line]

What makes Huckabee so special that he wouldn't have been just another face in the long line of anti-Mitts? Besides the fact that he got fat, of course.

Chuck Norris.

[WVdemocrat]

I really think Huckabee could have won in 2012.

[pbrower2a]

Right now he seems to be getting lost in the field.  However, in 2012 he would have basically become Romney's #1 challenger upon entering the race.  Could he have done better than Santorum and Gingrich?

Than Gingrich and Santorum? Sure.

I see Huckabee doing worse Up North, if unable to swing any states.

[Vega]

He couldn't have won. The 2012 Republican primary map wasn't really suited for anybody like him. You can't win the south, Iowa, and call it a day. Mitt has all the northeast states locked up, and California too (which would be a death blow to any potentially close race).

[Mr. Morden]

I'm guessing that if Huckabee had been the GOP's 2012 presidential nominee, he would have reacted differently to the Todd Akin controversy.  Though Huck's own past with Fay Boozman still would have come back to haunt him.

[pikachu]

He would've likely locked up Iowa and the South with much higher margins than Santorum did, but I can't see him being competitive in the Midwest, which would've sunk him. I can't see Huckabee pulling off the run in the Februrary primaries that Santorum did, and he likely wouldn't have put any fear into Romney in Ohio and Michigan. which were the almost fatal blows for the Romney campaign.