He's finally passed Romney at least.
From Rasmussen Polls:
Rudy Giuliani remains precariously atop the pack with support from 20% of Likely Republican Primary Voters nationwide. Fred Thompson is close behind at 19% while John McCain enjoys a second straight day in third place with 14% of the vote. Huckabee continues to gain ground and is just two points behind McCain at 12%. This is the first time all year that Huckabee has surpassed Mitt Romney. The former Massachusetts Governor slipped another point and he is now at just 11% nationally. No other Republican attracts more than 3% support while 18% are undecided.However with the increased numbers comes increased scrutiny. Can Huckabee hold up given some of his previous ethical scrapes?
From MSNBC
The state Ethics Commission has investigated 14 complaints against Huckabee and validated five. Two pertain to unreported gifts - a $500 canoe and a $200 stadium blanket - and three to cash the governor or his wife received but did not initially report:Additionally his recent comments about "the holocaust of liberalized abortion" and the fact that he's a Baptist minister may get him high marks with the GOP base but may in turn hurt him in regards to independent voters. However should he gather enough support from the religious right I can easily see a VP slot for him should the front runner not be able to garner their support. Now all he needs is some serious dough to stay in the running.
- $43,150 from his 1994 lieutenant governor's campaign for use of his personal airplane,
- $14,000 Janet Huckabee received from his 1992 U.S. Senate campaign, and
- $23,500 from a tax-exempt organization he incorporated with others in 1994, but whose funding source isn't known. The Action America organization, Huckabee said, was set up to coordinate parts of his private-sector speaking schedule during his three years as lieutenant governor.
Huckabee appealed the stadium blanket sanction and a judge threw out the $250 fine.
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