Mike Huckabee Biography

Michael Dale Huckabee was born on August 24, 1955, in Hope, Arkansas, United States, to Dorsey Wiles Huckabee, a fireman and mechanic, and his wife Mae, a clerk at a gas company. He has English, German, and Scots-Irish ancestry and grew up with a sister named Pat Harris who later became a middle school teacher.

He got his first job at 14 and read the news and weather at a local radio station. He was the first male member of his family to finish high school and served as student council vice president at Hope High School during 1971–72 and student council president during 1972–73.

He was elected governor of Arkansas by his chapter of the American Legion-sponsored Boys State program in 1972 and entered the ministry at Garrett Memorial Baptist Church in Hope the same year.

He completed his bachelor's degree in religion from Ouachita Baptist University on May 8, 1978 and went to Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, but dropped out early to work in Christian broadcasting.

Mike Huckabee worked for televangelist James Robison at 21 and later served as pastor at Immanuel Baptist Church in Pine Bluff, Arkansas in 1980-86 and the Beech Street First Baptist Church in Texarkana in 1986-92. In both Pine Bluff and Texarkana, he started 24-hour television stations to host the program Positive Alternatives and to produce documentaries, and had encouraged the all-white Immanuel Baptist Church to accept black members.

He successfully contested for the presidency of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention against Ronnie Floyd in 1989 and served in the post until 1991. He was awarded honorary doctorate of Humane Letters by John Brown University in 1991 and of Laws by Ouachita Baptist University in 1992.

In 1992, Mike Huckabee ran in the United States Senate election in Arkansas to replace incumbent Democratic senator Dale Bumpers, but lost receiving only 40 percent vote. However, after Arkansas governor Bill Clinton was elected president in the same election and lieutenant governor Jim Guy Tucker replaced him, he was encouraged to run in the special election for lieutenant governor in 1993.

Mike Huckabee defeated Nate Coulter to become the second Republican since Reconstruction to serve as Arkansas lieutenant governor. He defeated Democratic candidate Charlie Cole Chaffin and was re-elected to a full term as lieutenant governor in 1994.

After Tucker resigned following his fraud and conspiracy convictions, Huckabee replaced him and became the state's third elected Republican governor since Reconstruction. He won reelection for a full term in 1998 and was reelected for a second four-year term by defeating Jimmie Lou Fisher in 2002 and received widespread praise for his quick response to Hurricane Katrina.

During his term as governor, he commuted and accepted recommendations for pardon for 1,033 prisoners, which was twice as many sentences as his three predecessors combined, while still denying 92% of all clemency requests. However, one particular case of Maurice Clemmons, who had committed burglary without a weapon at age 16, received national attention after Clemmons committed multiple crimes following parole and ended up murdering four police officers.

He announced his candidacy for the 2008 presidential campaign in January 2007, but withdrew from the race in March 2008 after it became clear that John McCain would win the Republican nomination. He was subsequently considered as vice presidential running mate for John McCain, but that post eventually went to Sarah Palin.

He did not rule out running again in 2012 and came out in the lead in various polls, but eventually announced that he would not be a candidate for the GOP presidential nomination that year.

He did not rule out running again in 2012 and came out in the lead in various polls, but eventually announced that he would not be a candidate for the GOP presidential nomination that year.

He subsequently supported Donald Trump’s successful presidential campaign in 2016, for which he was reportedly offered the position of United States Ambassador to Israel, which he declined. After he started living in Florida, it was reported that he was considering running for governor of Florida in 2018, but he declined to run for the same.

In June 2008, Mike Huckabee was hired as a political commentator and regular contributor to Fox News coverage of the 2008 American presidential election. Months later, he signed a deal with ABC Radio Networks to host he radio program The Huckabee Report starting in January 2009 and ran it until May 2015.

On Fox News Channel, he hosted the weekend show, Huckabee, from September 2008 until January 2015, but later re-launched the Huckabee show in October 2017 on the Trinity Broadcasting Network. He started hosting a long-form daily talk show on Cumulus Media Networks in April 2012 and announced in December 2013 that he and the network mutually decided not to renew the contract.

Mike Huckabee knew his future wife and politician Janet McCain since they were children and married her on May 25, 1974. His wife was diagnosed with spinal cancer two years after marriage and underwent surgery and six weeks of radiation therapy amidst fear of paralysis and the inability to have children.

His wife eventually recovered and gave birth to their three children: sons John Mark Huckabee and David Huckabee, and daughter Sarah Huckabee Sanders. His daughter served as White House press secretary to President Donald Trump from July 2017 until July 2019 and is currently the governor-elect of Arkansas.

He was obese and was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2003, following which he began eating healthier and exercising and gained national attention after losing over 110 pounds (50 kg). He often discussed his weight loss publicly and used health care reform as a major focus of his governorship.

He has written or co-authored several books including the New York Times Best Seller Do The Right Thing: Inside the Movement That's Bringing Common Sense Back to America in 2008. Some of his other books include Quit Digging Your Grave with a Knife and Fork, Character Makes a Difference: Where I'm From, where I've Been, what I Believe and God, Guns, Grits, and Gravy.

An avid musician since age 11, Mike Huckabee plays the electric bass guitar in his classic-rock cover band, Capitol Offense. In 2007, he received the Music for Life Award from the National Association of Music Merchants for his music education advocacy.