Huckabee Campaign Press Release - Huck Iowa War Room: Caucus Night Edition

By Jack Sisson, Director of Research and Rapid Response

Ladies and gentlemen, grab your saddle, spurs and pearl snap shirts—this bull ain't MILD but this RODEO sure is WILD: Welcome to Iowa Caucus Night! Gov. Huckabee and Janet have been plowing through Iowa for days, weeks & months—with some FANTASTIC events this weekend. TEAM HUCK is firing on ALL cylinders! Big, BIG THANKS to activists and volunteers fanning across the state to speak at caucus sites tonight. Travel safe! Prayers go out to the Gov and family. A few news clips below….

HUCK Twitter Quick Hits=>>

-Americans spend upwards of $1 trillion each year complying with our 75,000-page tax code. We need a tax revolution!

-It's 25 degrees here in Iowa & my southern blood needs this propane heater, jacket, & scarf! @CNN

-I don't understand how anyone with an IQ above plant life could support socialism. I'm not #FeelingTheBern.

-You know what our government poverty programs do to folks? They keep them in poverty!

HUCK at the Shooting Range=> "You can have my guns when you pry them from my cold, dead fingers."

HUCK Facebook Quick Hits=>>

"Mike's positions are in his bones, not his note cards." Ralph Carter, North Carolina

"Mike Huckabee is somebody I can actually trust." - Andre Bauer, Lt. Gov. of South Carolina

"I support Huckabee because I believe true leadership starts with a time-tested moral character." —Tammie Stelter, Michigan

"Mike Huckabee's about as genuine as the day is long." - Josh Turner, country music star

Huckabee to address GOP caucus tonight in Fort Dodge, Iowa…."Mike Huckabee will address a Republican presidential caucus in Fort Dodge, Iowa tonight. "Conviction, moral clarity and integrity matters, and the people of Iowa know I will never say one thing in Marshalltown, Iowa and another in Manhattan," said Huckabee. "Our grassroots team of Iowa families, farmers, teachers, activists and volunteers is energized and excited for victory on caucus night." First Lady Janet Huckabee will also address a Republican caucus in Adel.

Yes, yes! America loves Gary's tractor…..=> Iowa caucus: hologram eagle and Jesus star on America's most patriotic tractor—The Guardian… "In Des Moines on Sunday, the Guardian was given a tour of the world's most patriotic tractor. The 1957 860 Ford, complete with hologram eagle whose eyes follow passersby...is the creation of Gary Leffler of West Des Moines..."Underneath the hood of the tractor is all the names of our family that served in the military," Leffler said as he conducted a tour of the vehicle, noting that his son had just been promoted to captain and would thus need to have his title on the tractor updated. The top of the hood features a Bible verse, John 3:16, and a cross, Leffler said, "and if you look in the clouds right here you can see Jesus in the clouds." "It's all airbrushed in," said Leffler, who did not paint the tractor himself. He's a man of God and when you look at the credentials of what he can do, I have to go with Mike Huckabee...Continuing the tour, he added: "My wife says, 'Really? You put a snake on the tractor?' I said that's for Isis, al-Qaida and the Taliban….I'm a principled man, and that's the reason I'm going for Mike Huckabee. No1 his stand on guns: perfect. His stand on pro-life: perfect. He's the only man who can stand up and say, 'I've beaten the Clinton machine.' Thirdly, as Ronald Reagan said, our best presidents have come from the governors program. "When you add it all up, he's a man of God and when you look at the credentials of what he can do, I have to go with Mike Huckabee. To me it's not even a choice, it's just clear-cut."

Huckabee Speaks in West Des Moines—Des Moines Register...WEST DES MOINES, Iowa -- With the Iowa caucuses about 24 hours away, all of the candidates are campaigning at full-throttle, especially ones at the back of the pack….Those candidates include 2008 Iowa caucus winner Mike Huckabee…."I'm going to be glad when we finally start basing this whole election on voters rather than on some east coast pollster who has never spent a night in Iowa and doesn't have a clue what matters to people who will be going to vote tomorrow night in the caucuses," Huckabee said….Governor Huckabee addressed a packed room at Inspired Grounds coffee shop in West Des Moines and took shots at rival candidates like Ted Cruz without ever mentioning their names….He told voters to remember he supports the renewable fuel standard and is a strong defender of the second amendment….Huckabee says he's not scared of his low polling performance this cycle. In fact, he reminds voters that Governor Terry Branstad even suggested he will surprise the state on caucus night…. "I trust Governor Branstad and his political predictions a whole lot more than some guy sitting on Fox today saying I'm going to endorse one of the other candidates," Huckabee said. "That guy has air in his head, on the side it says to inflate to 32 PSI because I want you to know, I'm not getting out of the race. I'm staying in, we're going to do great tomorrow night and keep polling and win the White House, folks."

At the gun range, political targets, literally— JOHNSTON, Iowa — As political memorabilia goes, it's a little unusual. In a back hallway near the restrooms at CrossRoads Shooting Sports, a gun range here in the suburbs of Des Moines, a group of old shooting targets, some marred by dozens of bullet holes, are hung like posters on the wall. They belong to the Republicans who have stopped here over the last year while campaigning for the presidency. All of the targets are autographed by the political celebrity who used them, including Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Bobby Jindal, Mike Huckabee and Huckabee's wife, Janet. While many in the GOP field brag of their love of hunting and firearms in order to woo gun enthusiasts, the targets here offer some clues as to whether they were telling the truth or just pandering for votes….And then there are the Huckabees — Mike and Janet — who have made frequent visits to CrossRoads. The couple most recently campaigned there Saturday, reporters in tow. But the range displays targets from previous stops. The former Arkansas governor, who has gone on numerous pheasant hunting trips here while campaigning, was mostly a center shot, though he seems to have missed his aim a few times. Janet Huckabee appears to be the most precise shooter among all the Republicans, obliterating the bull's-eye with a barrage of shots — and even landing a few in the head of the body outline on her target. "Practice makes perfect!" she wrote after a visit in November 2015.

NBC News—Des Moines, Iowa…"Mike Huckabee, if he's been to every single county in Iowa, it's tiring. No one does this if they don't believe in something, if they don't believe in what they're saying," said Liz Mitchell. Jim Labriola believes in what Huckabee is saying. "I love the realness. It just comes through," said Labriola, who played Benny on the TV show, "Home Improvement." Jim is also a comedian from New York and he's on the road stumping for Huckabee. "Governor Huckabee has a phenomenal sense of humor. He could've been a stand-up comedian," said Labriola. He calls Huckabee the "Reagan of our era," and says he'll never forget his time on the campaign trail in Iowa. "I admire the people here. I admire that they can't be bought. Like New York," said Labriola, as he laughed. Jim was only kidding about New York, but was being honest when he called Iowa the "true America." On Monday, all of America will be watching what happens.

Huckabee...—Des Moines Register...An enthusiastic crowd Sunday afternoon greeted Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, who was introduced to the standing-room-only audience by Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley. About 150 people were at the event, held at a coffee shop in West Des Moines' Valley Junction. Huckabee was cheered when he emphatically told the group..."I'm staying in, and I'm going to do great tomorrow night and keep going and win the White House"…Huckabee will be in South Carolina on Wednesday, campaign spokesman J. Hogan Gidley said….Huckabee, who won the 2008 Iowa caucuses, told the group that the way to "win the caucus is the old-fashioned way — hard work and a lot of handshaking."

Brody File Exclusive: Mike Huckabee Says More Christian Tithing Will Lead To Less Government—Christian Broadcast News…"In an exclusive interview with The Brody File, Mike Huckabee says if Christians would tithe more than they do currently, the federal government wouldn't be as big and intrusive financially in people's lives. Huckabee told us, "If, as a believer I think the real responsibility for taking care of poor people, people who are hungry, children who have real needs, if I truly believe that that ought to be a church function not a government function and I think government's too big and I want smaller government, you know how to get it? Make my giving bigger to the church. So if my giving to the church is small then guess what? I'm going to have a bigger chunk of government coming after my paycheck"…Mike Huckabee: "A lot of Christians are very frustrated that the government is taking fifty cents out of every dollar for taxes. Have they ever realized that if all the people who said, 'I'm a believer and I love Jesus.' If they gave God a dime out of the dollar and they took care of the poor and they took care of the widows and the orphans as we're supposed to biblically, government wouldn't be so big and government wouldn't be doing these programs and government wouldn't be taking fifty cents out of the dollar so this is a bigger issue than the church issue. Here's what it really comes down to: if as a believer I think the real responsibility for taking care of poor people, people who are hungry, children who have real needs, if I truly believe that that ought to be a church function not a government function and I think government's too big and I want smaller government, you know how to get it? Make my giving bigger to the church. So if my giving to the church is small then guess what? I'm going to have a bigger chunk of government coming after my paycheck….

Hopefuls wooing faithful—Arkansas Democrat Gazette…Huckabee spent time at his campaign headquarters in Urbandale, encouraging volunteers who were preparing to wave his signs near intersections or to telephone potential caucus attendees. He held out hope that he'll pull off a come-from-behind win. "People never pick exactly what's going to happen. They get it wrong every four years. And folks, we are not just hanging on. We are fighting to the end, and I want you to believe that there is a real possibility for a stunning upset," Huckabee said. Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad has predicted the Hope native might do better than expected, Huckabee said, adding, "We're going to prove that he's not only a great politician, but he is a prophet of biblical proportions."...Huckabee also has been stressing faith on the stump and in his campaign materials, even posting his supporters' prayers on his website, MikeHuckabee.com. (Lea Wilson-Reynolds of Virginia, for example, asked that God give Huckabee "wisdom to answer his naysayers and take him safely to all of his campaign locations.")...Huckabee spent much of Saturday giving media interviews, but took time in the afternoon to travel to a gun range for target practice. The candidate and several of his supporters showed off their marksmanship during a visit to Crossroads Shooting Sports in Johnston, outside Des Moines….Huckabee planned to worship this morning at Walnut Creek Church, which has four locations in the Des Moines area. Its pastor, Terry Amann, endorsed Huckabee in August. He also was scheduled to appear this evening at a screening of God's Not Dead 2, a faith-friendly movie that was shot, in part, in Little Rock. David Yepsen, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University and a former Des Moines Register political reporter, said the election year mix of prayer and politics makes sense politically in Iowa. "Evangelicals make up over half the likely Republican caucusgoers, and it was true four years ago and eight years ago when Huckabee won," he said. That voting bloc is "just a huge part of the Republican base right now, and it's true nationally as well."

Mike Huckabee: "Let's Get Rid of Abortion Once and for All"—LifeNews

...former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee took a strong stance defending the right to life of unborn children. Here's his comment and video of his remarks: "I talked about the importance of preserving life, of not just saying we're going to defund Planned Parenthood, but let's do something bolder. Let's get rid of abortion once and for all by applying the Fifth, and Fourteenth amendment to every person from conception because that means that we recognize that no person can be deprived of life or liberty unless they have due process. And, that's not happening in our country."

CHUCK NORRIS: THIS MAN SHOULD BE THE NEXT U.S. PRESIDENT—Exclusive: Norris urges Americans to 'vote your conviction'…The next president of the United States should not be Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders. Hillary will send us down the same path of destruction as Obama, and Bernie will send us down an even worse path - if worse is even possible!…Mike Huckabee truly is a first-class patriot and a renowned man of integrity. Our country can use his caliber of character in the White House, not only to help restore the Oval Office but also our nation…..I would propose that Huckabee is actually more like Reagan than any other candidate, and I'm not alone... Mike had, and continues to have, a message that resonates with the American people and is a man of great authentic character….Mike's qualifications include: He has supreme executive leadership experience as governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He has already run against the Clinton machine multiple times throughout his years as governor of Arkansas. He is pro-Israel, pro-military and knows the Middle East better than any candidate. He has already won the Iowa caucus (2008). He's been fighting conservative causes his entire adult life. He's rallied millions of citizens for years behind various fights for freedom, family and faith...One of the things I repeatedly tell people is: Vote your conviction even if it's not what's most popular, and rest assure that America's founders and God Himself back you because you're being true to who you are and what you believe...

NBC News, Des Moines, Iowa—With the Iowa caucuses about 24 hours away, all of the candidates are campaigning at full-throttle..."I'm going to be glad when we finally start basing this whole election on voters rather than on some east coast pollster who has never spent a night in Iowa and doesn't have a clue what matters to people who will be going to vote tomorrow night in the caucuses," Huckabee said. Governor Huckabee addressed a packed room at Inspired Grounds coffee shop in West Des Moines..."I trust Governor Branstad and his political predictions a whole lot more than some guy sitting on Fox today saying I'm going to endorse one of the other candidates," Huckabee said. "That guy has air in his head, on the side it says to inflate to 32 PSI because I want you to know, I'm not getting out of the race. I'm staying in, we're going to do great tomorrow night and keep polling and win the White House, folks."

Christie, Huckabee draw large crowds on caucus day eve—...Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee appeared in a West Des Moines eatery in front of a packed crowd and touted the fact that he did very well in Iowa in 2008, racking up more support in that caucus than any before or since. U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley gave Huckabee a gracious introduction, noting his many political successes in Arkansas, and Huckabee's political stamina and time spent in Iowa, getting to know voters in all 99 counties. And Huckabee has been loyal to Iowa, spending much of the past eight months in the Hawkeye State, meeting with citizens from corner to corner. He recognized the hard economic realities some Iowans are facing, noting the Maytag plant closure in Newton some years earlier. Returning to Newton, many former Maytag workers still had not found new work. "We can fix this," he said. "But we can't do it by electing people who have never fixed a thing in their entire political life." Huckabee urged those in the room to get out and caucus for him on Monday night and send a shockwave to the establishment. Regardless, he said, he noted that it is now in God's hands and the hands of the citizens. "I'm not getting out of the race," Huckabee said, flashing his trademark, Gomer Pyle grin. "I'm going to keep on going."

Mike Huckabee's Wife Janet Hits Bullseye with AR-15—GOP presidential candidate former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee - along with many of his campaign surrogates - had some fun at a shooting range in Johnston, Iowa on Saturday afternoon, just about 48 hours ahead of the Iowa caucus, where his wife, Janet Huckabee, hit a bullseye while shooting an AR 15. "We had a great time," Huckabee told Breitbart news. "We had a bunch of our surrogates [join] who are in town." Some of Huckabee's campaign surrogates attending the event were Arkansas first female and first Republican Attorney General Leslie Rutledge and former Congressman Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA). Huckabee's wife, Janet Huckabee, who also attended the event, hit a bulls-eye with an AR 15. "We had some great folks that came out with us and then a lot of our volunteers had a shoot off - just really had a great time," Huckabee added.

Gov. Mike Huckabee: Hillary Clinton's Emails 'Ought To End' Her Campaign—... Mike Huckabee says the discovery that 22 emails found in Hillary Clinton's home-brew email system are too secret to even release "ought to be the end" of her 2016 campaign. "She has no excuse," Huckabee said of Clinton's email server, which she used while serving as the nation's Secretary of State. "This is not someone who just got elected to something last year and is still trying to feel her way through the rules and through the laws…going back over 40 years, she was a staff member of the Watergate committee - she understood full well what federal law was about," he said. "She's a Yale trained attorney for heaven sakes…it's not like she's under educated," he added. Huckabee also cited Clinton's decades-long turns as a First Lady, a U.S. Senator and as Secretary of State, adding, [With] that kind of over 40-year time, for her to pretend that she just wasn't aware that she may be mishandling public documents or state secrets is utterly absurd - beyond absurd - and she has no defense over that, so I think she shows more culpability than a whole lot of people. "I think there's no doubt," Huckabee responded when asked if Clinton's email scandal will help her competitor Sen. Bernie Sanders…

We Went to the Gun Range With Mike Huckabee — and He Sent a Blunt Message to Hillary Clinton—…With just about 50 hours to go until the Iowa caucuses, Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee headed to a Des Moines firing range Saturday to "get out a little frustration." When TheBlaze asked Huckabee if he had a message for Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders regarding the Second Amendment, the former Arkansas governor quoted the "late, great Charlton Heston." "You can have my guns when you pry them from my cold, dead fingers," Huckabee said.

Mike Huckabee will host the upcoming film "God's Not Dead 2" a day before the Iowa caucuses—Christian Times… "The Republican candidate will host the exclusive screening in order to showcase the cultural and social landscape that challenges religious liberty in the modern age, particularly for Christians. Huckabee, 60, who is also a Christian minister, will host the film several months ahead of its April 1 premiere theaters in front of GOP leaders. It featured a college professor who tries to debunk the existence of God through philosophy, although by the end of the film, it was revealed that he was holding a grudge against God for the bad things that happened to him. In the new film, where Huckabee is set to make an appearance, the plot revolves around a history teacher who faces controversy and the danger of termination from the school where she teaches because of an answer she makes to a student. The student reportedly asks her about the similarities between Jesus' teachings and that of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. She then replies that Christ's teachings were an inspiration to King in his 'non-violent activism'. The school officials would then include a civil rights group to find the teacher guilty for violating 'separation of church and state.' "Cases like these - where the religious freedoms of everyday men and women are being restricted by courts and government agencies - are sadly quite common today," explained the film's producer, Michael Scott.