Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster
Looks like former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee won’t be moving to Tallahassee any time soon.
According to a Northwest Florida Daily News report, Huckabee told attendees of the annual Okaloosa County Republican Party Lincoln Dinner on Saturday that he was not interested in running for governor of Florida.
“There may be somebody thinking about it, but let me be real clear — it ain’t me,” he said, according to the report. “There is a greater likelihood that I will have transgender surgery than I will run for the governor of any state, at any time, or anything, anywhere. It ain’t happening.”
The Blue Mountain Beach resident has been mentioned as a possible 2018 gubernatorial contender.
In September, a poll by Public Policy Polling found 42 percent of voters said Huckabee should run for governor in the Sunshine State. The poll found 50 percent of Florida Republicans said Huckabee should run, compared with 21 percent of Democrats who thought he should throw his hat in the race.
Huckabee served as governor of Arkansas from 1996 until 2007. He first ran for president in 2008, where he was heralded as a conservative champion. He ran again in 2016, but didn’t make as much of an impact as he did eight years earlier.
The former governor might not be interested in making Tallahassee his adopted hometown, but look for him in the capital city later this week. He’s scheduled give the keynote address during the Legislative Prayer Breakfast at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center on Wednesday.
