Hillary and Huckabee Take No Chances in Arkansas Primaries

POSTED BY kevin brannon, 05 February 2008

Mike Huckabee and Hillary Rodham Clinton are expected to clean up in today’s Arkansas primaries, with 47 delegates available on the Democratic side and 34 for the Republicans.  

By all accounts, the hometown advantage seems to be paying off for both of them with mid-December polls showing Hillary leading the Dems with 57% and Huckabee ahead with 59%. And while no one ever expected Arkansas to reflect the dead heat of the national picture on either side, these two are not about to risk an embarrassing loss on home turf.

All three Clintons made stops in the Natural State last week after a horde of Obama supporters charged up from Texas hoping to play on their candidate's strength among African Americans and college students.  A win in Arkansas is absolutely a must for Clinton both as a referendum on the years she spent there as the state’s First Lady, and to prove she can compete in the south.

Although Huckabee’s success in the state where he was governor for 10-plus years is hardly less certain, the Arkansas Democrat Gazette did report that Huckabee came in dead last in a recent straw poll taken in ultra-republican Northwest Arkansas.  The results are extremely unlikely to play out statewide, but they do offer insight into the disdain Huckabee inspires within the Republican establishment:

State Rep. Donna Hutchinson of Bella Vista is a Romney supporter who helped produce radio advertisements in Iowa that blasted Huckabee’s record on illegal immigration. She said there’s a lot of disappointment with Huckabee among longtime Republicans in the party’s base of Northwest Arkansas.  The straw poll reflected that, she said.

“I think it indicates a problem that has been below the surface that no one has talked about,” Hutchinson said. “A lot of Republicans are upset.” She said they don’t like that Huckabee grew state government and advocated for illegal aliens to receive in-state tuition benefits. But they’re mostly displeased that he failed to build the party successfully in 10 years as governor.

In a nutshell:  I don’t expect any surprises, but I’m not taking my eye off the ball, either.
hillary clinton, primary, Mike Huckabee, Arkansas, Home state. Benton County straw poll