Huckabee Wins Louisana Primary, Beats McCain

Huckabee won his second contest on Saturday, again sending the message that he is the true (and viable) conservative in the race for the Republican nomination. From the Washington Post:

On the Republican side, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee delivered two humiliating defeats to Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) in the Kansas Republican presidential caucuses and the Louisiana primary, while running slightly behind McCain in Washington state with incomplete returns.

With 99 percent of the precincts reporting, Obama led Clinton, 58 percent to 36 percent, in Louisiana. Obama romped to victory earlier in the evening in Nebraska, 68 percent to 32 percent, and then overwhelmed Clinton in Washington, 68 percent to 31 percent, with 96 percent of the caucus vote counted.

Huckabee, a former Baptist minister who first emerged from a crowded field of Republican contenders with an impressive win in the Iowa caucuses, said of his contests with McCain: "We both made our case, and ours seemed to sell pretty well."

"While people in Washington and insiders continue to maybe gravitate to the senator's campaign, people across America are gravitating to our campaign and realizing there is a choice," he said in Washington, D.C.

Although McCain appeared to have locked up the nomination with a strong Super Tuesday performance and former governor Mitt Romney's announcement he was dropping out of the race, Huckabee beat McCain in Kansas, 60 percent to 24 percent, with 11 percent going to Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.). With 99 percent of precincts reporting in Louisiana, Huckabee led McCain, 43 percent to 41 percent.

In Washington state, McCain was clinging to a slight lead, 26 percent to 24 percent, with 83 percent of the caucus vote counted. Paul trailed with 21 percent of the vote.

Huckabee has vigorously disputed party leader's assertion that McCain is unstoppable at this point, and he said this evening that he was running strong among conservatives and that the race was far from over. "I didn't major in math," Huckabee told a cheering crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference meeting in Washington, D.C. "I majored in miracles."