President 2012: Is Mike Huckabee Gearing Up in South Carolina?

“You have to have South Carolina to win,” Mike Huckabee said last month during a stop here on his latest book tour. Or was it really just a “book” tour?

The former Arkansas governor has been clear that he will not take another stab at the presidency unless he thinks he can win. As he gauges his chances of mounting a successful White House run, no state looms larger in his calculus than South Carolina.

And his most recent visit to the first-in-the-South primary state gave him some reason to be encouraged.

As his bus rolled through the familiar Midlands and Upstate countryside, Huckabee was greeted by cheering supporters who gathered at stops from Florence to Greenville, waving signs from his 2008 White House run. Their message: they have not forgotten him, and they are still energized.

Huckabee also received some more discreet — yet equally enthusiastic – – encouragement when he huddled behind closed doors with some of his most influential supporters in the state: former South Carolina Governor David Beasley, senior adviser Mike Campbell, HuckPAC executive director Hogan Gidley and former South Carolina campaign spokesman Adam Piper.

“There was a very candid and frank conversation about 2008 and about things we could’ve done better,” Piper related. “And we talked about 2012.”

If he runs, Huckabee might be poised to repeat his 2008 victory in the Iowa caucuses. But his challenge figures to be steeper in South Carolina, where he finished second last time around to eventual Republican nominee John McCain.

Although Huckabee apparently has not yet made up his mind about another White House run, his South Carolina team-in-waiting is unanimous in agreeing that he could pull it off, even if he gets a later start than his rivals.

Well, Huckabee has been leading in almost all statewide polls. With the likelihood that Sarah Palin will NOT be a candidate, Huck might just give it a go. Why not?

The greatest criticism on the former Arkansas Governor has been his fundraising ability. But, he has been visible on that front lately.For example, his PAC has been sending my California-centric e-mails now for a few months – a few each week.

Stay tuned…..