Huckabee: Iowa plays a 'huge' role in election

NEW YORK, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee says the Iowa caucuses make or break a presidential campaign, noting that Obama's 2008 Iowa upset demonstrated "a guy with the middle name Hussein" could win the election.

Speaking to the conservative Kevin McCullough Radio show Wednesday, Huckabee said Iowa was the weather vane that predicted who would become president.

"It plays a huge role, Barack Obama would never have been president had he not upset Hillary Clinton back in 2008," he said.

Huckabee continued: "The upset of Obama in Iowa made him a viable candidate when most people thought that a guy with the middle name Hussein would certainly not be a viable candidate for president and it was just a remarkable turn."

He noted that polls are not destiny, pointing to Howard Dean's 2004 loss in Iowa after a long-time lead in the polls. Huckabee added that pundits who cite polls "don't get out much."

"It hardly is gonna reflect vote totals, especially in early states," he added.

Huckabee won the Iowa caucuses in 2008, but went on to drop out of the race. In the current election cycle, RealClear Politics has Huckabee polling at 1.8 percent in an average of several recent polls. He has previously said he would drop out of the 2016 presidential race if he did not place in the top three in the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 1.