Alaska congressman in Huckabee’s camp
Posted on Saturday, February 24, 2007
Mike Huckabee bolstered his still young presidential campaign Friday by winning an endorsement from one of the most powerful Republicans on Capitol Hill — Rep. Don Young of Alaska, former chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
Young is widely regarded as one of the most forceful members of Congress, a lawmaker who rewarded his home state handsomely when Republicans controlled the House.
Young agreed to serve as congressional chairman of the presidential exploratory committee Huckabee formed on Jan. 29.
Rep. John Boozman, the only Republican in the Arkansas congressional delegation, will be co-chairman.
Young, in a letter to House Republicans explaining his decision, said Huckabee can generate “a reawakening of the conservative values that make our country the land of opportunity.”
Huckabee said by phone Friday, “We think it is very significant to have someone of Don Young’s prestige and standing behind you.”
Boozman, in an interview, said he and Young can introduce Huckabee to other members of Congress, clearing the way for other possible endorsements.
“Everyone agrees, right now the nomination is wide open,” Boozman said.
Political analysts said Friday that the Young endorsement is an important initial step for Huckabee.
It enables him to talk about how “established political figures are taking him seriously,” said Stuart Rothenberg of The Rothenberg Political Report.
But Rothenberg also cautioned that it is “just one droplet compared to the sea of endorsements” that more high-profile Republican presidential candidates have already received.
Jack Pitney, an expert on Republican politics at Claremont McKenna College in California, said Young’s endorsement signals that Huckabee’s candidacy “has some support outside of his home state.”
And Young should help gather other support for the former Arkansas governor, Pitney said. “He is known as a very forceful member of Congress, and he has a way of making his preferences known.”
While known as a powerful legislator, Young also drew considerable criticism last year from taxpayer groups for pushing a project that came to be known as “the bridge to nowhere.”
Young and Republican Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska earmarked $ 223 million in a transportation bill for a giant bridge that would reach from Ketchikan to Gravina Island in their home state. The island, home to an airport, has a population of 50.
Some published reports also linked Young to the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal, although no wrongdoing was established.
Young, in an interview with The Politico, a Washington newspaper and Web site, called Huckabee “a man of character and a hell of a speaker.”
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