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Huckabee hearts Newport voters

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Lingering near the bottom of many polls, former Arkansas governor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee has struggled to raise money and support. But Newport Beach backers gave this dark horse a financial boost at a fundraising soiree Monday at the home of a prominent Newport Beach businessman and GOP supporter.

“Orange County has a huge impact on national fundraising,” Huckabee said. “It’s been a blue flame for republicanism. The Republican zeal that exists here makes it a special place.”

Huckabee has friends in Newport Beach — important ones.

About 400 people attended the Monday fundraising party at the back bay home of Buck Johns, president of Inland Energy Inc. The guest list read like a who’s who of local politics. Orange County Supervisor John Moorlach, state Sen. Tom Harman and Assemblyman Mike Duvall (R-Yorba Linda) all were in attendance. Lapel buttons that read “Buck for Huck” were available at the entrance to John’s home.

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To hear Huckabee tell it, he and Newport Beach are a perfect match.

“It’s a really conservative area. People want lower taxes they care about the sanctity of marriage.”

While Huckabee seems to have strong support in his home state of Arkansas and in Newport Beach, it remains to be seen if he can stay in the race long enough to become a solid contender for the Republican nomination.

Although Huckabee is struggling to raise funds for his campaign, only managing to amass a little more than $2 million, according to federal election data, he says his campaign is gaining momentum.

“A lot of people just don’t know who I am,” Huckabee said. “But we’ve raised more money in the past four days than we have in the last few weeks. Look how many people are here tonight. It’s just been phenomenal.”

Huckabee finished second to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in an Iowa straw poll in August. Some political analysts believe his candidacy could pick up steam after Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback dropped out of the race Friday. Brownback and Huckabee share strong support from the religious right.

As far as national polls, Huckabee received only 5% in a poll of 374 registered voters who defined themselves as Republicans or independents leaning toward Republican candidates. The poll was conducted by Opinion Research Corp. for CNN Oct. 12-14 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points. The poor showing put Huckabee tied for fifth place with four other candidates, including Brownback.

Local supporters remained confident Monday that Huckabee’s campaign would gain momentum.

“Up until three months ago, I didn’t think of him being a real contender,” said Fred Wehba, chairman of the commercial real estate investment company Bentley Forbes. Wehba, known for his strong financial support of Republican candidates, attended the Newport Beach Huckabee fundraiser Monday evening. “But now he’s really come up in so many of the polls. I think he’s really becoming a viable candidate.”

If there is hope for Huckabee, Newport Beach could play a decisive roll in the future of his campaign.

“Huckabee is going to be the Republican nominee for president, and it’s going to happen in Newport Beach,” said local Republican volunteer Richard Dunn, who helped organize Huckabee’s visit. “This guy is going to come out of nowhere and win. He’s going to go head-to-head with Hillary [Clinton] and win.”


BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at [email protected].

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