Out of everyone who could compete for the Republication nomination in 2016, Mike Huckabee has the most presidential campaigning experience. He campaigned in 2008 and thought hard about doing so in 2012, and, unless Mitt Romney runs again, that experience could give Huckabee an edge in 2016.
Even with his name recognition and constant TV appearances, there are facts about Huckabee that people might not know. Here are seven of them:
1. President Bill Clinton was known to be from a place called Hope (in Arkansas)—and used that quite brilliantly in political ads when he was running for president. Huckabee also was born in Hope, albeit nine years later. And, like Clinton, Huckabee also was governor of Arkansas.
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2. Even with Clinton's reign, Huckabee would become only the second Arkansas native to win the presidency, and Huckabee has joked about Clinton setting the precedent. "You know, people say all the time, do you really think that some obscure, unknown governor born in Hope, Arkansas, has any chance to be president of the United States? Fortunately, that question's already been answered,"
Huckabee once told ABC News.
3. Huckabee and Clinton didn't know each other when they were growing up—probably because of the age difference — but Huckabee's father and Clinton's mother were high school classmates. In fact, Huckabee didn't know Clinton had been born in Hope until much later. "We always thought of him as being from Hot Springs,"
Huckabee told C-Span. "And it was not until perhaps his national role began to change that he began to sort of embrace his early days in Hope. And, of course, it sounds better. You know, I believe in a place called Hope, and Hope certainly embraced him from that."
4. Huckabee's father was a firefighter, and his mom was a clerk at a gas company. But because his dad couldn't make enough money battling blazes, he toiled on his days off as a mechanic rebuilding car generators. Only with all those jobs, Huckabee said, could his parents make enough money to eke out a monthly payment on the house they rented.
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5. Huckabee was the first male in his family to graduate from high school. "My father had never finished high school, nor his father, nor his, " Huckabee told ABC. " I was so blessed to have teachers and a community. Hope was more than a geographic place. It was really a spirit, it was an attitude. And people kind of looked after each other."
6. In 2003, Huckabee weighed close to 300 pounds, and he was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. He subsequently lost 110 pounds. He wrote a book, “Quit Digging Your Grave With a Knife and Fork,” and in 2005 he ran the Little Rock marathon in 4 hours, 38 minutes.
As The New York Times said in 2006, he lost weight "so rapidly that it was as if he simply unzipped a fat suit and stepped out."
7. It's common knowledge that Huckabee plays bass guitar, but you might not know that he rocks out in a classic-rock cover band called Capitol Offense. And that band has had a few high-profile gigs.
According to USNews.com, Capitol Offense has opened for REO Speedwagon, Grand Funk Railroad, and the Charlie Daniels Band. In 2008, Huckabee sat in on bass with “The Tonight Show” band.
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