Former Arkansas Governor and Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee gave a press conference before the Iowa Family Policy Center ACTION event today. He was asked about a potential 2012 bid. He said he was open to a 2012 run and was considering it, but hasn’t made up his mind and said he didn’t have a timetable for making a decision. He said a lot of internal soul searching he needs to do, but did note that this time around he is in a different place with poll numbers leading many national polls and beating President Obama in a recent head-to-head poll. He also said that he doesn’t “plan on jumping in a pool unless there is water in it” indicating that there would need to be financial backing as he struggled in 2008 with fundraising. If he gets into it, he does believe he can beat President Obama.
One thing that won’t impact his decision is whether or not Sarah Palin decides to run. When Dave Price of WHO-TV 13 asked him, “If Governor Palin would compete in the Caucuses and announced that she would, would that discourage you?”
Governor Huckabee answered:
One of the things that I learned in politics is that you never make your decisions based on what other people do or don’t do. Because, first of all, they can change their mind, and second of all the one thing I learned running four marathons was that you run your race, your pace. You do not go out there and look around and constantly wonder what somebody else is going to do. No question that she will be a very, very strong presence and force. If she gets in, she may run away with it, and that is one of those things that everybody needs to be prepared for. But the decision that I make won’t be based on what she does. If I get in it I’d prefer that she not and that she would endorse me (laughs), but if she does then I welcome her because she has a very strong and important voice and has brought a lot of energy to the grassroots of the Republican party. That I think is very positive by anyone’s standards.
You can watch the entire press conference below:
