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Bobby Jindal drops out. Which 14 Republicans are left for 2016?

The GOP has a history of nominating people who have run before, which could give heart to some familiar faces. But there’s also a crop of first-timers who could steal the show.

8. Mike Huckabee

Ross D. Franklin/AP
Republican presidential candidate and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee waves to the crowd prior to speaking at a Republican National Committee spring meeting luncheon May 15, 2015, in Scottsdale, Ariz.

[Updated May 8, 2015] The former governor of Arkansas launched his second presidential campaign on May 5. He announced in his hometown of Hope, Ark. – the birthplace of former President Bill Clinton. 

The first time Mr. Huckabee ran, in 2008, he won the Iowa caucuses, but had a hard time raising the money needed to mount a major campaign. In 2012, he sat out the election, seemingly content to be a well-compensated talk-show host on Fox News and party celebrity. He also noted that he’s a weak fundraiser and wasn't prepared to risk poverty with another run.

Now he's ready to try again, and is aiming his appeal at the Evangelical Christians who powered him to victory in the Iowa caucuses in 2008. 

Huckabee, a Southern Baptist minister, has "readied himself for the current run by attending a series of 'Pastors and Pew' events run by David Lane, an Evangelical leader who urges his followers to take a more active role in the political process," writes Monitor reporter Peter Grier. 

"Huckabee has a genius for expressing Evangelicals' positions on social issues with direct and compelling language," writes Mr. Grier. 

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Mark Sappenfield
Editor

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