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Jan 7, 2008 4:28 pm US/Central
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Head Of Minnesota GOP Backs Huckabee
ST. PAUL (AP) ―
Mike Huckabee's presidential campaign hit new heights in Minnesota when the state's GOP chairman said he'd spearhead the former Arkansas governor's campaign here.
Republican Party chairman Ron Carey on Monday called Huckabee "the best of the best." Carey made the statement when his role as volunteer state chairman for Huckabee was announced.
It's unusual for the leading party official to take sides during a hotly contested nomination battle. Carey said he expects to take hits from some party activists, but he added that party bylaws allow him to endorse a candidate in the presidential race.
Carey said he gravitated toward Huckabee last year when the ex-governor was a blip on the political radar. "There is too much at stake to be silent anymore," Carey said. "He really has an opportunity to rebuild a coalition of average Americans just as Ronald Reagan did."
Until his victory in last week's Iowa caucuses, Huckabee's campaign was virtually invisible in Minnesota. Carey and other supporters say his appeal among faith-based voters should help him in Minnesota's precinct caucuses, which will be held Feb. 5.
The party apparatus will remain neutral and all GOP candidates will have access to the same resources, Carey said.
Unlike the Democratic caucuses in Minnesota, Republicans who attend their precinct caucuses won't be making binding decisions during a preference ballot.
DFL Chairman Brian Melendez won't endorse a candidate until the Democratic nominee is chosen, said party spokeswoman Kelly Schwinghammer.
(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)