Huckabee may drop presidential campaign if he's not top 3 in Iowa

WASHINGTON, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- Former Arkansas governor and Southern Baptist minister Mike Huckabee said he will drop out of the presidential race if he is unable to place third or higher in the Iowa caucuses.

Huckabee is trailing in the bottom half of the Republican nominees with 2.1 percent, according to polling averages by RealClearPolitics. Donald Trump is leading the pack with 35.1 percent, followed by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's 18.1 percent.

The former Arkansas governor told WHO radio host Simon Conway he will likely drop out unless he places well in Iowa -- where he currently has about 2 percent support.

"If we can't come within striking distance of the victory or win it, then I think we recognize that it's going to be hard to take that onto the other states," Huckabee said Wednesday during the radio interview. "Historically, we've always said there are three tickets out of Iowa: You have to come in No. 1, 2 or 3 ... that's probably still the case. It may be that if you're a close second or a close third, that's very good ... If you're a distant third, then maybe there's not a way to go on. I think you have a good, hard look at it after Iowa."

Huckabee won the caucuses in Iowa during his 2008 campaign. He found financial success since his 2008 presidential campaign. He's written multiple books, including The New York Times best-selling Do the Right Thing: Inside the Movement That's Bringing Common Sense Back to America.