Huckabee: It's a two-person race, and 'we're in it'  Gov. Mike Huckabee received good news this afternoon after a strategic move by John McCain awarded him the 18 delegates up for grabs at West Virginia's state Republican convention. And outcomes first pointed to in leaked exit poll data were confirmed by poll results, giving Huckabee room for more optimism about his presidential prospects. His "Southern strategy," in which he concentrated his campaigning efforts in states with heavy concentrations of social conservatives, may have paid off.
The National Review Online's Campaign Spot blog first published exit poll data culled from a secret source showing that Huckabee was set to win pluralities of the ballots cast in a range of Southern states: Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and his home-state of Arkansas. All of the states were in turn confirmed by various news outlets for Huckabee.
Prior to contests being called in Georgia and MIssouri Huckabee took a victory lap in Little Rock, just after 10 PM ET.
"People have been saying this is a two-person race," he declared. "It is! And we're in it!"
Huckabee appears set to exit Super Tuesday able to make a case that his candidacy must be taken more seriously than it has been to date. His solid accumulation of delegates, combined with evident social conservative unease with Sen. John McCain, may give his campaign a major boost.
In early counts, Huckabee was ahead in Missouri. But after suburban counties were counted, Senator John McCain took a decisive lead, and was declared the winner by the cable networks.
 
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