Huckabee makes good on vow to help other GOP candidates
Posted on Thursday, July 17, 2008
As he promised when he ended his presidential campaign, Mike Huckabee has been writing checks and headlining fundraisers across the country to support likeminded politicians.
The former Arkansas governor used his two political-action committees to donate more than $ 52, 000 to 28 Republicans, from John McCain to an Iowa House candidate, according to federal and state campaign-finance reports.
Huckabee first created a PAC to support other Republicans in 2005. But he wound up spending far more on travel and consultants leading up to his presidential campaign than he did to help other candidates. That PAC, Hope for America, was registered in Virginia, which allowed it to accept unlimited contributions.
After losing in the Republican primary campaign in March, Huckabee established a federal committee, Huck PAC, and echoed his intent to help other office-seekers.
Now, he’s following through.
Fueled by an interactive Web site, Huck PAC has drawn more than $ 394, 000 in contributions. It has donated $ 26, 220 to party organizations and candidates such as U. S. Sens. Lamar Alexander, Elizabeth Dole and John Sununu.
“The response has been very positive,” said Sarah Huckabee, the committee’s executive director and Huckabee’s daughter.
There was one glitch.
Among the PAC’s donations was a $ 2, 300 contribution to Don Young, whom Huckabee endorsed in June. The Alaska congressman is famous for earmarks, so-called pork-barrel spending that angers some conservatives.
Many Huckabee supporters used his Web site to criticize the endorsement. Unlike any of the roughly 20 other candidates he’s publicly backed, Huckabee had to defend his move. In a blog posting, he praised Young’s support for “pro-family, pro-life” issues and Young’s endorsement of Huckabee’s presidential bid.
“I don’t expect everyone to agree with every endorsement we make,” Huckabee wrote on June 24. “I am thankful that we are able to talk about our differences openly and respectfully.” Overall, Huck PAC has spent $ 192, 838 since its inception in March. It has $ 201, 587 in cash with donations continuing to roll in.
For the quarter ending June 30, the PAC spent nearly $ 50, 000 on payroll, taxes and benefits for its five employees. It cost more than $ 15, 000 to run the Web site, including a feature that allows easy online contributions. Postage and direct-mail efforts exceeded $ 75, 000.
But what about that $ 855. 99 bill from The Tie Bar, an Illinois store specializing in men’s neckwear ? Is Huckabee, who now is negotiating for his own Fox News Channel talk show, shopping for better onair accouterments ?
“Not at all,” said Sarah Huckabee.
She said the PAC frequently orders custom ties as fundraising items. Groups can auction one off, or the PAC might give them out to endorsed candidates. Noting that the ties are emblazoned with bass guitars — which Huckabee regularly played on the campaign trail — the ties are popular moneymakers, she said.
“We get requests daily for things like that,” she said. “It’s not like ties for the staff or anything like that.” The committee is restricted from giving candidates for federal office more than $ 2, 300 each for primary and general elections. Sarah Huckabee said it hopes to qualify soon to give $ 5, 000 for each election.
Meanwhile, Huckabee’s Virginia-based PAC has finally begun to donate to candidates on a large scale. Hope for America, which he started in July 2005, had distributed less than $ 4, 000 to candidates until this year. Since Huckabee quit his presidential bid, the PAC has doled out $ 26, 000 to 10 Republican candidates for the Arkansas Legislature.
Huckabee’s PAC gave $ 4, 000 each to Gilbert Baker, Kelly Eichler and Davy Carter. Baker, a state senator of Conway, was instrumental in defending Huckabee against other state Republicans who went to Iowa to criticize Huckabee. Carter, a Cabot House hopeful, defeated one of those critics, Randy Minton, in the May 20 Republican primary.
Hope for America had about $ 68, 000 on hand at the end of June. And the rest will be distributed as Huckabee shuts down the PAC, his daughter said.
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