Michael Dale "Mike" Huckabee (born August 24, 1955) is a former governor of the U.S. state of Arkansas. He was governor from 1996 to 2007. He is a Republican. He is also a Southern Baptist minister. He wanted to be President of the United States in the 2008 election, but did not get picked by his party.

Early life
Huckabee was born in Hope, Arkansas. His parents were Mae Elder and Dorsey Huckabee. Several of his ancestors were slave owners in Georgia and Arkansas. He studied at Ouachita Baptist University and at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Governor of Arkansas (1996-2007)
In 1996, incumbent Democratic governor Jim Guy Tucker was convicted of fraud. Within a few hours, Tucker reinstated his resignation after Huckabee threatened to initiate impeachment proceedings against Tucker. Huckabee was sworn in as Governor of Arkansas on July 15, 1996.

In November 1998, Huckabee was elected to a full four-year term by defeating retired Colonel Gene McVay in the primary and Jonesboro attorney Bill Bristow in the general election, becoming the state's third elected Republican Governor since Reconstruction.

In November 2002, Huckabee was reelected to his second four-year term by defeating State Treasurer Jimmie Lou Fisher, garnering 53 percent of the vote. His reelection came despite the defeat in the general election of fellow Republican U.S. Senator Tim Hutchinson. By the end of his term, Huckabee held the third-longest tenure of any Arkansas Governor. Only Democrats Orval Faubus, who served six consecutive two-year terms (1955–1967), and Bill Clinton, who served 11 years, 11 months (1979–1981; 1983–1992), had longer tenures.

During his time as a governor Huckabee raised taxes 21 times for a net tax increase of $505 million.

2008 presidential campaign
Huckabee announced his run for the White House on Meet the Press on January 28, 2007. He lost the Republican primaries to John McCain.

2016 presidential campaign

On May 5, 2015, Huckabee announced that he will seek the 2016 Republican nomination for President of the United States. It will be his second run for the U.S. presidency. He suspended his campaign on February 1, 2016.

Personal life
After 2008, he began hosting a news talk show on the Fox News television channel. The show, called Huckabee, ran until 2015 when Huckabee retired. He has also written several books, many of which have been best sellers.

In his spare time, Huckabee plays guitar in a band. On his television show he has played guitar with a number of famous artists, including Willie Nelson, Def Leppard, and Ted Nugent.

Huckabee married Janet Huckabee in 1974. They have four children. Their daughter, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, is the current White House Press Secretary under the Donald Trump administration since 2017.

References

Other websites

 Mike Huckabee official website
 HuckPAC
 Mike Huckabee Grassroots Forum
 C-SPAN Q&A interview with Huckabee, February 13, 2005
 Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
 Profile in The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture

1955 births
Living people
2008 United States presidential candidates
2016 United States presidential candidates
American Baptists
American Evangelicals
Christian ministers
Creationists
Governors of Arkansas
People from Hope, Arkansas
US Republican Party politicians
Zionists
Lieutenant Governors of Arkansas