--- title: Mike Huckabee Eyes Southern States, Better Funding in 2016 Race description: Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is pursuing an "SEC strategy" for the Republican presidential nomination, aiming for southeastern states. canonical: https://time.com/3845897/mike-huckabee-campaign-launch/ author: Philip Elliott article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-05T02:01:27.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:04:10.958Z article:section: Politics og:title: How College Football Explains Huckabee's Campaign Strategy og:description: His advisers call it the "SEC strategy." og:url: https://time.com/3845897/mike-huckabee-campaign-launch/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How College Football Explains Huckabee's Campaign Strategy twitter:description: His advisers call it the "SEC strategy." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Mike Huckabee Eyes Southern States, Better Funding in 2016 Race  by [Philip Elliott / Little Rock, Ark.](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott / Little Rock, Ark. Senior Correspondent May 5, 2015 2:01 AM UTC  by [Philip Elliott / Little Rock, Ark.](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott / Little Rock, Ark. Senior Correspondent May 5, 2015 2:01 AM UTC Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is plotting a route to the Republican presidential nomination that could easily be mistaken for the sports bracket of a Southeastern Conference super fan. As he seeks to avoid a repeat of the spectacular flameout of his 2008 run, Huckabee is pinning his hopes on the 11 contiguous states that run from Florida to Missouri and Texas to South Carolina. His advisers and allies call it “the SEC strategy,” for the college sports conference that tracks the same map. The former Fox News host is expected to formally launch his campaign Tuesday in his birthplace of Hope, Ark., where the campaign has reserved the largest venue in the county, which seats 1,600\. He will jet from the announcement inside Hempstead Hall on the campus of the local community college to New York for interviews with Fox and other news outlets. Huckabee’s future campaign strategy will build on his previous success, while adding new sources of funding the avoid the missteps of 2008\. From the sidelines, his supporters at a super PAC are taking odds that their unlimited cash can help him claim what he fumbled in 2008: the GOP nomination. At the campaign, Huckabee plans to focus on southern states, which are likely to vote for a nominee just a few weeks after the Iowa caucuses. In eight of the 11 states in the SEC, he won 30 percent of the vote during his 2008 campaign. The strategy is also a nod to the rules of the primary. Although the states’ schedules are still coming together, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee are all eyeing March 1, 2016, nominating contests, which means Huckabee has a chance to strike a decisive blow. If they stick to that date, those states will also be allowed award delegates proportionally, allowing Huckabee to rack up support even if he doesn’t come in first. _Read more:_ [_Ben Carson: The GOP’s Accidental Candidate for President_](http://time.com/3845535/ben-carson-the-gops-accidental-candidate-for-president/) Still, Huckabee’s team says the strategy doesn’t mean they’re writing off the rest of the country. “We’re not looking at a state and saying, ‘That’s a win,’ or ‘That’s a loss,'” said J. Hogan Gidley, a longtime Huckabee aide who is now a senior adviser to his likely campaign. “We’re confident that he will play well in a lot of states.” In 2008, Huckabee tried to play in every state, following his win in Iowa with disappointing showings in Michigan and New Hampshire. In retrospect, his advisers said they wished they had bypassed Michigan to focus on campaigning in South Carolina, where he narrowly lost to John McCain. Still, Huckabee faces some challenges. The electorate has changed, he is no longer the upstart fresh face, and he is not running against Sen. John McCain, the Arizona Republican whom many in the party’s base found unacceptable. Plus, Huckabee faces the same challenges he had during his 2008 campaign: an uphill fight against better-funded rivals; a party establishment that eyes his evangelical views as useful at turning out base voters but off-putting to moderates; and a pronounced lag behind competitors who have better mastery of the technical aspects of modern campaigns. He’s even added a few more hurdles: he lacks the newcomer sheen that helped him win Iowa’s lead-off caucuses and come in second in the race for delegates to the party’s nominating convention; he spoke regularly about his deeply conservative views on his now-ended daily radio program and weekly Fox News Channel program; he has traded in his optimism for a more dire view of America’s future. The change can be best seen in his book titles, which went from aspirational (“From Hope to Higher Ground: 12 Steps to Restoring America’s Greatness”) to confrontational (“God, Guns, Grits and Gravy”). In short: Huckabee’s pathway to the nomination is going to be tough — but, his strategists earnestly insist, not impossible. Part of their bet is that other, newer faces might stumble under increased scrutiny. Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Marco Rubio of Florida and Rand Paul of Kentucky are in their first terms in the Senate. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is running his first campaign since 2002 and is rusty. And New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie cannot shake questions about a home-state bridge scandal or his fiery temperament. _Read more:_ [_Marco Rubio Waits for His Moment_](http://time.com/3819977/marco-rubio-campaign-launch/) “The electorate is going to be clamoring for a candidate who can communicate the Republican message without turning off voters,” said Gidley, Huckabee’s communications adviser. “You’re not going to vote for someone you don’t like.” Part of the Huckabee strategy also hinges on the existence of an outside super PAC, an independent organization that can raise and spend unlimited cash to help Huckabee’s presidential hopes. Iowa-based operative Nick Ryan is leading a group called Pursuing America’s Greatness. It registered in March with the Federal Election Commission and is using a Little Rock mailing address. Ryan is no stranger to the world of outside spending. He ran a similar effort for former Sen. Rick Santorum’s unsuccessful presidential campaign in 2012 and the pro-Santorum Red, White and Blue Fund was predominantly paid for by three major donors. Ryan has also helped the separate American Future Fund to spend tens of millions of dollars to help conservative candidates. “I’m very proud to be on this team. I think Gov. Huckabee is the best communicator that we have in the Republican Party, the most likeable likely candidate,” Ryan said in a phone interview. “We desperately need to put forward a new face that can convey a positive, forward-looking vision for the future of our country.” He declined to provide specific fundraising goals. Huckabee has also been working to keep in touch with a network of pastors who helped him build early momentum that eventually petered out under financial pressures. He is a frequent caller to allies in Iowa and South Carolina in the eight years since and has wooed evangelical leaders who have tremendous sway in Iowa and Southern states. His most recent book focused heavily on what divides Americans and the cultural differences between elites in place like New York and more homespun folks he grew up with. It was a call-to-arms for social conservatives. To that end, he’s returning to his roots with a Tuesday kickoff that embraces his small-town roots in a place that has already yielded one White House winner. Bill Clinton, a decade older than Huckabee, was the first. “Give Hope a second chance,” Huckabee joked during his 2008 run. Now, Huckabee is hoping Republican voters give him one, too. ### See the 2016 Candidates Looking Very Presidential  Sen. Ted Cruz is surrounded by stars and stripes at the 2014 Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C. on September 26, 2014. Mark Peterson—Redux  Hillary Clinton Hillary Clinton gazes pensively into the distance at Iowa Senator Tom Harken'a annual Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa on September 14, 2014. Brooks Kraft—Corbis for TIME  Jeb Bush Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush flashes a power watch before giving his keynote address at the National Summit on Education Reform in Washington on Nov. 20, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Bernie Sanders waves to supporters after officially announcing his candidacy for the U.S. presidency during an event at Waterfront Park in Burlington, Vermont, on May 26, 2015. Win McNamee—Getty Images  Chris Christie New Jersey Governor Chris Christie strikes a presidential power stance at the ceremony for the opening of the 206 bypass in Hillsborough, New Jersey on October 28, 2013. Mark Peterson—Redux  Former Hewlett-Packard Co Chief Executive Officer Carly Fiorina listens to her introduction from the side of the stage at the Freedom Summit in Des Moines, Iowa on Jan. 24, 2015. Jim Young—Reuters  Rand Paul Sen. Rand Paul works a crowd during a campaign stop on October 24, 2014 in McDonough, Georgia. Jessica McGowan—Getty Images  Rick Perry Texas Gov. Rick Perry looks powerfully patriotic during the National Anthem before an NCAA college football game on Nov. 27, 2014, in College Station, Texas. David J. Phillip—AP  Bobby Jindal Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal looks to the future during The Family Leadership Summit on Aug. 9, 2014, in Ames, Iowa. Charlie Neibergall—AP  Martin O'Malley Maryland Governor Martin OíMalley ponders decorating ideas in front of his possible future home on CBS's Face the Nation on Feb. 23, 2014. Chris Usher—AP  Marco Rubio Sen. Marco Rubio looks determined the morning after the State of the Union address in Washington, D.C. on January 29, 2014. Melissa Golden—Redux  Ben CarsonBen Carson at the Conservative Political Action Committee annual conference on March 8, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Jim Webb Retiring Sen. Jim Webb imitates the presidential wave during a rally in Virginia Beach, Va. on Sept. 27, 2012. Steve Helber—AP  John Kasich Ohio Gov. John Kasich practices his presidential victory pose at the Ohio Republican Party celebration on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014, in Columbus, Ohio. Tony Dejak—AP  Rick Santorum Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum looks resolute at CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference on March 7, 2014. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Scott Walker Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker practices the presidential point on March 3, 2014 in Milwaukee. Jeffrey Phelps—AP  Mike Huckabee Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee fine-tunes his presidential oratory at the Conservative Political Action Committee annual conference in National Harbor, Md. on March 7, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Lincoln Chafee, Former Rhode Island Governor, poses for a selfie with a student after announcing he will seek the Democratic nomination for president in Arlington, Va. on June 3, 2015. Jonathan Ernst—Reuters  Lindsey Graham Lindsey Graham announced his plans to join the 2016 presidential race. Alex Wong—Getty Images  George Pataki Former New York governor George Pataki listens to a question at the First in the Nation Republican Leadership Conference in Nashua, New Hampshire, in this April 17, 2015 file photo. 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