As the first primary elections get ready to start, Mike Huckabee, Republican candidate for president, is devoting more money for staffing and advertising. Some of his first ads have already gained some attention, not all of it good, but his push to increase his current lead in the Iowa polls as well as to forge ahead in New Hampshire and South Carolina has been putting his money where the earliest voters are.
Critics have jumped all over his holiday ad in which he is seated in front of a bookcase and many claim the intersection of the shelf and divider appear as a subliminal cross in the background, insinuating he is pandering to the religious right. Refusing to take the bait, Huckabee quickly points out he is sitting in front of a bookcase and no religious undertones should be expected.
His staffing levels have increased to coincide with his showing in the recent polls published at usaelectionpolls.com, and with 30 percent of probable Republican voters saying they will vote for his in the January 3rd Iowa caucus, represents a five percent lead over his closest challenger Mitt Romney in a recent Strategic Vision poll. Nationally, he is in third place, with Rudy Giuliani and Romney in a dead heat for the top spot.
Adding the staffing in many of the early primary states and increasing spending on advertisements in those states is a move many pundits see as a move to strengthen his Iowa lead and bring more attention to her personal values as a presidential candidate.
