Update frrom CNN’s Jeff Zeleny: Mike Huckabee will not jump into the Republican presidential race tonight in his interview on Fox News, he said, but rather will reveal “when and where” he will make an announcement.
It’s another tease from Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor who sought the GOP presidential nomination in 2008. He reminded reporters during an off-camera session today that he filed papers to open an exploratory committee earlier this month.
He declined to criticize any of his potential Republican rivals, saying that should be the job of Democrats. He argued that he could build a broad coalition beyond social conservatives, including union workers and middle class voters disaffected by policies of President Obama’s administration.
He won the Iowa caucuses in 2008 and boldly suggested he could do so again, even with a far larger field.
“Most of the people who were with me eight years ago are still with me,” Huckabee said. “But I do know that yes, there will be competition.”
He presented himself as a candidate who could mount the best challenge to Hillary Clinton, given his experience running against what he called the “Clinton machine.”
Huckabee made the comments to a handful of reporters in advance of a Fox News interview that was teased by his spokesman as a potential announcement. His remarks were peppered with forward-looking comments that suggested he is indeed running.
But voters have seen Huckabee teases before.
Original post from CNN’s Alexandra Jaffe: Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is going to offer supporters some clarity on his potential presidential bid on Friday night, his spokesman said.
Spokesman Hogan Gidley tweeted that Huckabee told reporters, “If you watch @SpecialReport with @BretBaier tonight I’ll make an announcement about my 2016 decision.”
The former governor has been actively preparing for a presidential bid, traveling to early primary states and fleshing out his political team. In January, Huckabee announced he’d be leaving his Fox News show, which was seen as a sign of his intentions to run for the White House, and he announced this week he’ll stop broadcasting his radio show in May.
It’s unclear what he’ll announce Friday night, but Daily Caller reporter Alex Pappas tweeted that Huckabee said he plans to outline his time frame for making a decision.
