Gallup: Huckabee Tops GOP Field

Politico reports:

Mike Huckabee is in a position most politicians would die for.

In the latest Gallup poll released Friday, he’s the Republican leader, ahead of 16 other presidential prospects. Regardless of what’s being polled, who’s doing the polling or how the question is asked, among Republicans Huckabee typically finishes on top.

Who is the most liked? Mike Huckabee.

Who do Fox News viewers favor? Mike Huckabee.

Who does the South want to be president? Mike Huckabee.

Poll the early primary states and the former Arkansas governor is winning. Match up any of the 2012 contenders with President Barack Obama and Huckabee usually runs the strongest.

For a potential candidate who doesn’t do a whole lot of actual campaigning – and who most insiders don’t believe will run for the White House – Huckabee occupies a surprisingly dominant position.

“Huckabee’s the only one of the top Republicans who has the combination of electability and base appeal it’s going to take to beat Barack Obama,” wrote Tom Jensen of the Democratic polling firm Public Policy Polling in January. “A lot will change over the course of 2011 but at least based on the information we have so far Huckabee looks like the GOP’s best bet.”

There’s no single reason that explains why Huckabee polls so well, so consistently.

He’s run for president before, but so has former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who doesn’t perform nearly as well in the polls. Some point to Huckabee’s non-threatening persona and sunny demeanor. Others see his placement in a unique position at the intersection of conservative politics, media and faith—a former preacher, Huckabee now hosts his own show on Fox—as the key to his polling success.

“His Fox News show really helps his name recognition,” suggested Republican pollster Whit Ayres. “He’s a very genial person. He doesn’t seem to have a mean streak at all.”

Clearly his upstart 2008 bid, a campaign in which he showed surprising staying power, unfolded in such a way that it left him in better shape than when he began.

“Huckabee does better because his 2008 run gave him decent name recognition and favorable ratings without the perceived negatives that appear to be limiting the appeal of the other better known prospective GOP hopefuls,” said Mark Blumenthal, the editor of Pollster.com.

Still, despite the polling data—and despite the fact that Huckabee has topped nearly every survey conducted on the 2012 field since Barack Obama’s election—party insiders don’t view the former governor as the front-runner for the GOP nomination.