Huckabee surges, hires Reagan's ex-campaign manager

0 Comments | AFP, December, 2007

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Mike Huckabee was ahead in a poll out Friday among Republican presidential hopefuls in the key early primary state of South Carolina, as his campaign announced hiring a strategist who worked with former president Ronald Reagan.

A CNN/Opinion Research poll showed Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, ahead of his better-known Republican rivals with 24 percent support.

Next in the poll came former Tennessee senator and television actor Fred Thompson with 17 percent, while New York City's former mayor Rudolph Giuliani and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney tied at 16 percent.

In October Huckabee had just four percent in national polls, far behind long-time front-runner Giuliani.

The Republican South Carolina primary is set...