Huckabee, Mike (1955-…), a Republican, served as governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was the state’s lieutenant governor from 1993 to 1996. Huckabee has also served as a political commentator for cable television news programs.
Michael Dale Huckabee was born in Hope, Arkansas, on Aug. 24, 1955. He was ordained as a Southern Baptist minister in 1974. He received a bachelor’s degree from Ouachita Baptist University in 1976. He then attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1976 and 1977. From 1980 to the mid-1990’s, Huckabee served as a pastor in churches in Pine Bluff and Texarkana, Arkansas. He was president of the Arkansas Baptist Convention from 1989 to 1991. Huckabee began to produce religious television programming in the mid-1980’s. He became president of a television station in 1987 and started a communications company in 1992.
In 1992, Huckabee won the Republican primary election for a United States Senate seat but lost the general election. In 1993, Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton became president of the United States, and Lieutenant Governor Jim Guy Tucker succeeded Clinton as governor. That year, Huckabee won a special election to become lieutenant governor. He won a full term in 1994. In 1996, Tucker was convicted of felony fraud charges and forced to resign as governor. Huckabee then became governor. He was elected to full terms in 1998 and 2002. Because of a two-term limit for the office of governor, Huckabee could not seek reelection in 2006.
As governor, Huckabee worked to improve the state’s schools and expand health insurance coverage for poor children. He also led efforts to improve the state’s highway system. Huckabee became nationally known for losing more than 100 pounds (45 kilograms) after he was diagnosed with diabetes. He promoted healthy dietary and exercise habits in his book Quit Digging Your Grave with a Knife and Fork: A 12-Stop Program to End Bad Habits and Begin a Healthy Lifestyle (2005).
Huckabee also wrote several other books, including Character Is the Issue (1997); Kids Who Kill: Confronting Our Culture of Violence (1998); Living Beyond Your Lifetime (2000); From Hope to Higher Ground (2007); A Simple Government (2011); and God, Guns, Grits, and Gravy (2015).
In 2007, Huckabee began a campaign for the Republican Party‘s 2008 presidential nomination. He dropped out of the race, however, after U.S. Senator John McCain won enough delegates for the nomination. Huckabee, known for his polished speaking style and opposition to legalized abortion and same-sex marriage, then began hosting a political television show on the Fox News Channel. In 2015, Huckabee announced a run for his party’s 2016 presidential nomination. He withdrew from the nominating race in February 2016, however, after a poor finish in the Iowa caucuses.
From 2017 to 2019, Huckabee’s daughter Sarah Huckabee Sanders served as the press secretary for President Donald J. Trump. In 2022, Huckabee Sanders was elected to serve as governor of Arkansas.
