Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said Monday that to consider him likely to run for president in 2016 is a “pretty good assessment of where things stand.”
“I don’t think it’ll be a big shock to anybody if I jump in the fray and once again run for president in 2016,” he said on CNN’s New Day, calling his resignation from Fox as a host and commentator the “tip of the hand that things are moving in that direction.”
Huckabee has ramped up his political activity in preparation for that potential presidential bid, visiting early primary states and calling former political advisers to discuss plans. But he’s thus far made cultural issues a centerpiece of his message, drawing frequent headlines for his criticism of pop star Beyonce and opposition to same sex marriage.
Polling has shown, however, public sentiment shifting in favor of gay marriage nationwide, and even a significant portion of the Republican Party coming around to the idea. A recent CNN/ORC poll found that 57% of Americans think gay couples should have the right to marry, and 36% of Republicans agree.
But asked whether the polling suggests he’s on the “wrong side of history,” Huckabee defended his opposition to gay marriage as being supported by a long tradition of “biblical marriage.”
“When you say ‘the wrong side of history,’ let’s just be reminded that there’s been a relatively, and I mean a very relative brief history of same-sex marriage. The overwhelming history is the natural law of marriage, biblical marriage,” he said. “So I don’t think there’s a side of history that’s overwhelming at this point. People have their opinions.”
He argued, however, that the presidential race won’t center on the candidates’ views on gay marriage, but rather their economic visions and proposals to combat poverty and inequality.
“I don’t care whether people are straight or gay, they want to be able to know that they have a real chance to live the American dream, which they can’t as long as the economy keeps its boot on their face,” he said.
