This would be bigger than either the Pat Robertson or the Paul Weyrich endorsements:
Sources close to Dobson say that within the next ten days he is coordinating an endorsement plan with the presidential campaign of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. According to a Huckabee insider in Iowa, the event would be staged in that state at a rally, followed by a bus tour across the state, and an appearance by Huckabee on Dobson’s radio show, which is heard nationally.
We can go into all the reasons why conservative evangelicals in general, and James Dobson in particular, have been losing influence within the GOP. But a Dobson endorsement would still be huge for Huckabee. As Soren Dayton explains, Huckabee has been solidifying his support among the Christian right — including picking up a key endorsement from Southern Baptist leaders on Friday — and getting Dobson in his camp could make him a genuine force to be reckoned with:
That sounds like a consolidation of the religious right in a way that could be worth a good 5-10% in places like Iowa and South Carolina. And in Iowa, Huckabee is in 2nd, and this kind of thing could include votes coming out of Romney’s hide. In South Carolina, it is less clear, but it seems likely that it would come out of the hides of both Romney and Fred Thompson.
Dayton notes that Romney is fighting to prevent a Dobson-Huckabee alliance — but the real loser here is probably Fred Thompson, who appears, once again, to have alienated a group of important people who had wanted to support him.
2 Responses to “Dobson to Endorse Huckabee?”
I really can’t see Mike Huckabee as a president, but for principle’s sake, I would be glad to have him triumph over the more liberal-minded candidates.
Something to say?
Respectfully, I think Romney is the real loser since he is a much more legitimate contender for the nomination.
Left by Devin Castles
November 13, 2007 at 11:28am