By Devon Mills, Liz Burlingame, Brad Zimmerman and Will Mari  

What’s keeping former Ark. Gov. Mike Huckabee in the race, now that Sen. John McCain is the presumptive GOP nominee? The answer’s complicated, but it involves evangelicals, Saturday Night Live and Texas.

Former Ark. Gov. Mike Huckabee is likable, yes, but is he practical? Most Americas would say “no” to the latter, as we see Huckabee continuing to bear hug his campaign and lash out at critics, many of whom are from his own party. In a recent interview, he accused Ari Fleischer, former press secretary to President George Bush, of having a “smug, elitist, arrogant attitude.” This arose after Fleischer joked that Huckabee was staying in the campaign because he liked flying around in charter planes.

Huckabee said he’s staying in the race because of his issues, which he said people will neglect if he leaves the spotlight. He mentioned changing the tax system and immigration reform.

But Huckabee wouldn’t remain in this thing if he only expected to get something ideological out of it. While his campaign spending is meager compared to other candidates ($327,000 in the Iowa caucus compared to Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney’s $7 million) running for president is financially draining, especially with most of the Republican support now being funneled into Sen. John McCain’s account.
 
The Washington Post reported a few alternative reasons as to why Huckabee wants to stay visible:
 
“Speculation also abounds that he is positioning himself for a vice presidential slot. And with no job to fall back on, and with books to sell and speaking engagements to line up, it’s possible Huckabee believes his stock will rise higher the longer he stays in the race.”
 
Huckabee refused to entertain such talk and contended that he’s “running for president,” and not the vice-presidency.

But two things are certain about Huckabee: he will not concede to Sen. John McCain anytime soon, and he does not shy away from appearing on late-night comedy shows.

A frequent guest of The Colbert Report, Huckabee also appeared on the most recent edition of Saturday Night Live ’s “Weekend Update” segment.

Although it’s apparently a mathematical impossibility for Huckabee to win the Republican nomination — SNL cast member Seth Meyers informed him that he would still be 200 delegates short of the necessary 1,191 even if he won every single remaining delegate — he said he is more concerned about miracles than math.

“Well, fortunately Seth, I’m not a math guy,” Huckabee said. “I’m more of a miracle guy.  So at this point, I’m going to focus on the miracle part. But if that miracle doesn’t happen, let me assure the American people that Mike Huckabee does not overstay his welcome.  When it’s time for me to go, I’ll know, and I’ll exit out with class and grace.”

Huckabee then humorously stayed on stage after Meyers attempted to end the interview, poking fun at the notion that he does not realize the appropriate time to leave.

If it’s Huckabee’s time to duck out of the race, why are his supporters still voting for him in caucuses and primaries?

One Washington state voter who cast his ballot for Huckabee in the primary reasoned that the Arkansas governor is the candidate most closely aligned with his views. A self-described evangelical Christian, the voter, who asked to remain anonymous, said Huckabee’s religious values helped capture his support.

“He’s against gay marriage in the sense that he would like a Constitutional amendment that defines marriage as a man a woman, which I’m for,” he said. “He also wants to get rid of the income tax system, which is pretty cool.”

Although he voted for the Republican governor in the primary, the voter said he wouldn’t necessarily vote for another Republican candidate in November if Huckabee isn’t the nominee.

“I would support the next candidate that most closely aligns with my views, whether that turns out to be McCain, or maybe Obama,” he explained. “Whichever candidate has the values that represent what I believe will get my vote. These preliminary rounds, Huckabee most closely fit my values.”

Although McCain is the likely nominee, this particular voter didn’t think continuing his support for Huckabee is harmful to the Republican Party’s unity.

“I think it sends the message that he’s getting votes that McCain normally would have gotten if McCain’s views were more conservative than what they are,” he said. “For example, abortion … he’s silent on the abortion issue. That might force him to commit to the issue if he wants to get the evangelical Christian vote.”

Perhaps, like Huckabee, his supporters are not overly concerned with the math involved in the nominating process. They simply like what Huckabee stands for and will support him all the way until the end — whenever that may be.

Another man who has some insight into why Huckabee’s sticking around is Joe Fuiten, pastor of Cedar Park Church in Bothell, Wash. and Huckabee’s volunteer state chairman.

Fuiten, who endorsed the Arkansas governor when he passed through Bellevue last fall, is a local evangelical Christian activist and grassroots leader of some heft.

After a close second-place finish in Feb. 9’s caucuses and a more distant loss in Feb. 21’s primaries, Fuiten said he feels good about how his candidate fared in the state.

As for what’s next, Fuiten thinks that Huckabee’s role is that of the “noble opponent.”

By staying in the race, Huckabee will have the chance to continue to champion strong conservative stances on abortion, marriage and other issues evangelical value voters care about.

“It’s always good to have someone who represents your values in the race,” Fuiten said.

“Someone like Huckabee, who’s not a radical … he represents our values in a humane way,” he said. “That helps. The thing we fight is people who marginalize us.”

In other words, the amiable, folksy pastor has helped push socially conservative stances on issues in a way that’s not off-putting.

“He’s a very good spokesman for our side,” Fuiten said. That side is the still strong evangelical community.

In last Tuesday’s Wisconsin primary, McCain made some inroads with evangelicals, but they still voted 2-1 for Huckabee.

That’s a sign that they may not be quite ready to embrace McCain, and Huckabee’s role as a sort of constituency candidate may continue to grow in the wake of stories like the controversial New York Times piece on McCain’s relationship with a female lobbyist.

While Fuiten said that he thought the story wasn’t true, he still thinks it illustrates the need for at least one other GOP candidate to stay in the race.

“Until the country has decided to nominate someone else, he should stay in,” he said. “In politics, a week is an eternity … it’s a long time until August,” he said.

Besides, he added, “Texas is his kind of country.”