May 5, 2015 Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee waves to supporters in Hope, Ark., after announcing that he is running for the Republican presidential nomination. (Photo: Matt Sullivan, Getty Images) 
 
 Mike Huckabee launched his second run for the Republican presidential nomination by promising to take the nation "from hope to higher ground'' and emphasizing his ability to work with Democrats while he was governor of Arkansas. "If you live off the government payroll and you want to run for an office other than the one you've been elected to, at least have the integrity and decency to resign the one you don't want any more,'' he said. In 2008, Huckabee surprised the GOP establishment with his victory in the Iowa caucuses. Huckabee, 59, has better favorable ratings in national and statewide surveys than former Florida governor Jeb Bush, Wisconsin Gov. Huckabee," Vander Plaats said, "there's still a certain flirtation with the new car smell of new candidates." In a recent campaign video, Huckabee argued that in his more than 10 years as governor, he took on Democrats in "Bill Clinton's Arkansas" after candidate Bill Clinton won election to the White House in 1992. That's why it surprised many when he announced, without much warning, in January of this year that he would be stepping down from his Fox News Saturday evening show, Huckabee. Huckabee boasted of his populist record, touting his work raising family income and cutting taxes during his decade-long tenure as governor.
– Mike Huckabee is throwing his hat in the ring—again. The former governor of Arkansas today announced "I am a candidate for president of the United States of America" at the University of Arkansas Community College, in his hometown of Hope—which also happens to be the birthplace of Bill Clinton, USA Today reports. "Every day in my life in politics was a fight," Huckabee says in a video set to introduce him. "But any drunken redneck can walk into a bar and start a fight. A leader only starts a fight that he's prepared to finish." The video also notes Huckabee's ability to rise above "Bill Clinton's Arkansas," includes visuals of both Bill and Hillary Clinton, and describes his plan for a "maximum wage" for workers, per the AP. How his entrance is being framed: RealClearPolitics has Huckabee currently sitting sixth out of 14 current and potential GOP presidential candidates. Writing for the Washington Post, Karen Tumulty notes a few things in Huckabee's favor (he's a "gifted communicator" with solid name recognition), but sees the path as challenging. Though he won the 2008 Iowa caucuses, his funds soon petered out, and this time he'll face "credible" opponents, some of whom "are challenging him for the financial and political support of conservative Christians." At the New York Times, Trip Gabriel frames 2008 as the easier race. "The biggest question in voters' minds about Mr. Huckabee ... may be why he has returned to the fray. Although American politics is full of stories of the ultimate triumph of also-rans, from Richard M. Nixon to Ronald Reagan, Mr. Huckabee would seem to face greater obstacles than during his first presidential campaign, when he battled only a couple of rivals for the party's conservative base." How an NPR headline puts it: "Can Huckabee Overcome the 'New Car Smell' of Other Candidates?"