Quit Digging Your Grave with a Knife and Fork

Early life

Huckabee was born on August 24, 1955, in Hope, Arkansas, the son of Dorsey Wiles Huckabee (1923–1996) and his wife Mae (Elder) Huckabee (1925–1999), conservative Southern Democrats. Huckabee is of English, German, and Scots-Irish ancestry, with roots in America dating to the Colonial Era. He has cited his working-class upbringing as the reason for his political views; his father worked as a fireman and mechanic, and his mother worked as a clerk at a gas company.

His first job, when he was 14, was at a radio station, where he read the news and weather. He was elected governor of Arkansas by his chapter of the American Legion–sponsored Boys State program in 1972. He was student council vice president at Hope High School during the 1971–1972 school year, then was student council president during the 1972–1973 school year. He has one sister, Pat Harris, a middle school teacher. He entered the ministry in 1972 at Garrett Memorial Baptist Church in Hope.

Huckabee married Janet McCain on May 25, 1974. He graduated from Ouachita Baptist University on May 8, 1978, completing his bachelor's degree in religion before attending Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. He dropped out of the seminary after one year in order to take a job in Christian broadcasting.

Pastoral career

At age 21, Huckabee was a staffer for televangelist James Robison. Robison commented, "His convictions shape his character and his character will shape his policies. His whole life has been shaped by moral absolutes." Prior to his political career, he served as pastor at Immanuel Baptist Church in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, from 1980 to 1986, and the Beech Street First Baptist Church in Texarkana, from 1986 to 1992.

Huckabee started 24-hour television stations in both Pine Bluff and Texarkana, where he produced documentaries and hosted a program called Positive Alternatives. He encouraged the all-white Immanuel Baptist Church to accept black members in the mid-1980s. Years later, he wrote about the insights he gained as a minister:

My experience dealing every day with real people who were genuinely affected by policies created by government gave me a deep understanding of the fragility of the human spirit and vulnerability of so many families who struggled from week to week. I was in the ICU at 2 a.m. with families faced with the decision to disconnect a respirator on their loved one; I counseled fifteen-year-old pregnant girls who were afraid to tell their parents about their condition; I spent hours hearing the grief of women who had been physically and emotionally clobbered by an abusive husband; I saw the anguish in the faces of an elderly couple when their declining health forced them to sell their home, give up their independence, and move into a long-term-care facility; I listened to countless young couples pour out their souls as they struggled to get their marriages into survival mode when confronted with overextended debt ...

In 1989, Huckabee ran against Ronnie Floyd of Springdale for the presidency of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention. Huckabee won and served as president from 1989 to 1991.

Huckabee has received two honorary doctorates: a Doctor of Humane Letters, received from John Brown University in 1991, and a Doctor of Laws from Ouachita Baptist University in 1992.

Political career

Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas, campaign 1992

In Huckabee's first political race in 1992, he lost to incumbent Democratic senator Dale Bumpers, receiving 40 percent of the vote in the general election. In the same election, Arkansas governor Bill Clinton was elected president, making lieutenant governor Jim Guy Tucker the new governor when Clinton resigned the governorship. In 1993, Republican state chairman Asa Hutchinson urged Huckabee to run in the special election for lieutenant governor held on July 27. Realizing his loss came among key conservative Democrats, Huckabee ran a decidedly conservative campaign. In the subsequent general election, he defeated Nate Coulter, who had been Bumpers's campaign manager the previous year, 51–49 percent. Huckabee became the second Republican since Reconstruction to serve as Arkansas lieutenant governor, the first having been Maurice Britt from 1967 to 1971.

In his autobiography From Hope to Higher Ground, Huckabee recalled the chilly reception that he received from the Arkansas Democratic establishment on his election as lieutenant governor: "The doors to my office were spitefully nailed shut from the inside, office furniture and equipment were removed, and the budget spent down to almost nothing prior to our arriving. After fifty-nine days of public outcry, the doors were finally opened for me to occupy the actual office I had been elected to hold two months earlier."

Dick Morris, who had previously worked for Bill Clinton, advised Huckabee on his races in 1993, 1994, and 1998. Huckabee commented that Morris was a "personal friend". A newspaper article reported on Huckabee's 1993 win: "Morris said the mistake Republicans always make is that they are too much of a country club set. What we wanted to do was run a progressive campaign that would appeal to all Arkansans.'"

Morris elaborated, "So we opened the campaign with ads that characterized Mike as more of a moderate whose values were the same as those of other Arkansans." Consequently, he abandoned his earlier support for the Council of Conservative Citizens (CofCC) when in April 1994 following an adverse media campaign against the CofCC, Huckabee withdrew from a speaking engagement before their national convention. He repeated the accusations made by various media and civil rights organizations such as the Southern Poverty Law Center recalling his past association with the CofCC saying, "I will not participate in any program that has racist overtones. I've spent a lifetime fighting [against] racism and anti-Semitism."

Governor of Arkansas (1996–2007)

In May 1996, Tucker was convicted "on one count of arranging nearly $3 million in fraudulent loans" as part of the Whitewater controversy. The Arkansas Constitution, like nearly all state constitutions in the United States, does not allow convicted felons to hold office. Tucker thus promised to resign by July 15. Huckabee then announced he would quit the Senate race and instead fill the unexpired term of Tucker. However, Tucker, insisting he had a strong case for appeal, rescinded his resignation as Huckabee was preparing to be sworn in on July 15. Within a few hours, Tucker reinstated his resignation after Huckabee and the legislature threatened to initiate impeachment proceedings against Tucker. Huckabee was then duly sworn in as governor.

In November 1998, Huckabee was elected to a full four-year term by defeating retired colonel Gene McVay in the primary and Jonesboro attorney and Democratic candidate Bill Bristow in the general election, becoming the state's third elected Republican governor since Reconstruction.

According to a CNN exit poll, Huckabee received 48% of the African American vote in his 1998 election; but some experts have questioned whether those numbers are a representative sample on how he did on the whole in the election.

In 2001, Huckabee was named "Friend of a Taxpayer" by Americans for Tax Reform for his cut in statewide spending.

In November 2002, Huckabee was reelected to his second four-year term by defeating State Treasurer Jimmie Lou Fisher, garnering 53 percent of the vote. His reelection came despite the defeat in the general election of fellow Republican U.S. Senator Tim Hutchinson.

Huckabee received widespread praise for his state's rapid response to Hurricane Katrina. In 2005, Time named him one of the five best governors in the U.S., writing "Huckabee has approached his state's troubles with energy and innovation" and referred to him as "a mature, consensus-building conservative who earns praise from fellow Evangelicals and, occasionally, liberal Democrats." Governing magazine likewise honored Huckabee as one of its 2005 Public Officials of the Year. Additionally, he was among those legislators given the APHA Distinguished Public Health Legislator of the Year Award by the American Public Health Association for that same year.

2008 presidential election campaign

Huckabee announced his run for the White House on Meet the Press on January 28, 2007.

At the August 11 Iowa Straw Poll, Huckabee took second place with 2,587 votes, roughly 18 percent, splitting the conservative Republican party votes amongst other candidates. Huckabee spent $57.98 per vote in the Straw Poll, which is the lowest among the top three finishers. Huckabee drew attention with an unconventional ad featuring Chuck Norris. In a later ad Huckabee wished voters a merry Christmas, and said that "what really matters is the celebration of the birth of Christ."

In November 2007, Huckabee drew endorsements from a large number of religious activists, including Billy McCormack, a pastor in Shreveport, Louisiana, and a director and vice president of the Christian Coalition of America, founded in 1988 by a previous presidential candidate, Pat Robertson. He was criticized for using a bookshelf that resembled a cross in a Christmas commercial as a form of signaling to Christians, and laughed them off saying "I will confess this: If you play the spot backwards, it says, 'Paul is dead. Paul is dead.'"

He also faced a "drumbeat" of questions about the role of faith in his gubernatorial administration and about past statements he made in 1998 about the U.S. being a "Christian nation" in which he said, "I hope we answer the alarm clock and take this nation back for Christ." Huckabee told NBC that his comment was not politically incorrect and was "appropriate to be said to a gathering of Southern Baptists." Huckabee has credited God with some of his political success.

On January 3, 2008, Huckabee won the Iowa Republican caucuses, receiving 34% of the electorate and 17 delegates, compared with the 25% of Mitt Romney, who finished second, receiving 12 delegates; Fred Thompson, who came in third place and received three delegates; John McCain, who came in fourth place and received three delegates; and Ron Paul, who came in fifth place and received two delegates.

On January 8, 2008, Huckabee finished in third place in the New Hampshire primary, behind John McCain in first place, and Mitt Romney who finished second, with Huckabee receiving one more delegate for a total of 18 delegates, gained via elections, and 21 total delegates, versus 30 total (24 via elections) for Romney, and 10 for McCain (all via elections).

Speculated 2012 presidential campaign

In a November 19, 2008, article by the Associated Press, Huckabee addressed the possibility of running for president in 2012. He said, "I'm not ruling anything out for the future, but I'm not making any specific plans."

Amid speculation about a future run for the presidency, a CNN poll in December 2008 found Huckabee at the top of the list of 2012 GOP contenders, along with former Alaskan governor Sarah Palin, fellow 2008 presidential candidate Mitt Romney, and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.

On December 3, 2008, Cincinnati-based NBC affiliate WLWT asked Huckabee about the prospect of running, to which he said, "I'm pretty sure I'll be out there. Whether it's for myself or somebody else I may decide will be a better standard bearer, that remains to be seen."

A June 2009 CNN/Opinion Research Corporation national poll showed Huckabee as the 2012 presidential co-favorite of the Republican electorate along with Palin and Romney. An October 2009 poll of Republicans by Rasmussen Reports put Huckabee in the lead with 29%, followed by Romney on 24% and Palin on 18%. In a November 2009 Gallup poll, Huckabee was shown as the leading Republican contender for 2012. In November 2010 CNN projected in a poll that Huckabee would defeat Barack Obama in a hypothetical 2012 contest. In a Rasmussen poll taken January 11–14, 2011, Huckabee was even with Obama at 43% each.

Huckabee took stances opposed to the nature of the incumbent president, Barack Obama. In comments made March 1, 2011, on The Steve Malzberg Show, Huckabee said of Obama, "I would love to know more. What I know is troubling enough. And one thing that I do know is his having grown up in Kenya, his view of the Brits, for example, is very different than the average American." (This is a reference to the Mau Mau Uprising against the colonial rule of the United Kingdom in 1952; Obama himself has never lived in Kenya.)

On May 14, 2011, Huckabee announced on his FNC show that he would not be a candidate for the GOP presidential nomination in 2012. Despite his high national poll numbers and being seen by many as the front runner, Huckabee declined to run, saying, "All the factors say 'go,' but my heart says 'no.'"

2016 presidential campaign

Political commentators speculated that Huckabee might be ready for another presidential run in 2016. He was limited by a lack of money in 2008 but with changes to federal election law allowing SuperPACs to pour large sums of money into a race he might be better positioned to stay in the race. Huckabee has in addition earned personal wealth since 2008 on the lecture circuit and his TV and radio shows. He ended his daily radio show in December 2013, which strengthened speculations about a presidential bid.

Huckabee indicated in September 2014 that he would make the decision on whether to run early in 2015. In January 2015, Huckabee ended his show on FNC to prepare for his possible run in the 2016 presidential election. On March 30, 2015, Huckabee supporters launched a Super PAC to make preparations for his run for the presidential ticket in 2016.

On May 5, 2015, in his hometown of Hope, Arkansas, Huckabee announced a campaign to seek the Republican nomination for president of the United States in the 2016 election. In his speech, Huckabee attacked trade deals that he said drive down U.S. wages, opposed raising the age for Social Security benefits, criticized President Obama for what he said was putting more pressure on Israel than Iran, and made an unusual plea for donations of $15 or $25 a month, saying: "I will ask you to give something in the name of your children and grandchildren."

On February 1, 2016, after a disappointing showing in the Iowa caucus Huckabee decided that he was going to suspend his campaign.

First Trump administration

Following the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Huckabee met with President-elect of the United States Donald Trump, whom he had supported for the Republican nomination after ending his own campaign in February. It was reported by The Daily Mail and The Jerusalem Post that Trump offered Huckabee the position of United States ambassador to Israel. Huckabee denied the reports. He told Fox News that a possible cabinet appointment for himself was discussed but that he turned the offer down, saying, "I'm not sure it was the right fit."

His daughter Sarah Huckabee Sanders served as White House press secretary to President Donald Trump from July 2017 until July 2019.

Following Trump's defeat by Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election, Huckabee supported Trump's legal challenges in closely contested states, stating, "I think he owes it to all of us to make sure the election was fair. I am not saying it wasn't, I don't know. But we need to know, we have to have an answer to the questions that linger." On November 15, in a letter addressed to Joe Biden first posted on his website, Huckabee made unsubstantiated claims of election fraud in the 2020 election.

United States ambassador to Israel (2025–present)

On November 12, 2024, President-elect Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate Huckabee as the next U.S. ambassador to Israel. He stated that Huckabee would "bring peace to the Middle East". On February 12, 2025, Huckabee's nomination was sent to the Senate, and on April 9, 2025, it was approved by the United States Senate by a vote of 53–46. Huckabee was sworn in later that day. He arrived in Israel on April 17, 2025, and presented his credentials to President Isaac Herzog on April 21, 2025.

In June 2025, during the Iran–Israel war, Huckabee sent Trump a text message in which he told him that God had spared him in the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Pennsylvania so that he could become the "most consequential President in a century—maybe ever." He added that Trump would "hear from Heaven" with respect to whether or not the U.S. should bomb Iran. Trump shared the message on his social media platform Truth Social.

In July, Huckabee complained to Israel's interior minister about a bureaucratic holdup of visas for American evangelical groups. The issue was resolved after he threatened reciprocal treatment for Israelis seeking visas for travel to the United States.

On August 1, 2025, Huckabee and Trump's Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff visited the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution center in Gaza.

In October 2025, conservative commentator Tucker Carlson interviewed far-right commentator Nick Fuentes on his podcast. On the podcast, Carlson called Huckabee and other Republicans "Christian Zionists" who had been "seized by this brain virus." Huckabee posted on Twitter that he "Wasn't aware that Tucker despises me. I do get that a lot from people not familiar with the Bible or history. Somehow, I will survive the animosity." Ted Cruz defended Huckabee as "a pastor and a patriot who loves America, loves Israel, and loves Jesus."

On November 20, 2025, the New York Times reported that Huckabee had hosted Jonathan Pollard at the Embassy of the United States in Jerusalem in July. Pollard, a former Navy intelligence analyst, was sentenced to life in prison in 1987 for selling American state secrets to Israel; he was released in 2015 and emigrated to Israel in 2020. While the embassy disputed the Times' framing of the meeting, it confirmed its occurrence. Interviewed by the Times, Pollard stated that the meeting was "friendly" and that its "main purpose" was to thank Huckabee for his support for Pollard during his incarceration, as Huckabee had publicly advocated for his release since 2011. The White House stated that it hadn't been aware of the meeting, but that President Trump "stands by" Huckabee.

Media career

On February 23, 2008, Huckabee appeared on Weekend Update during the 33rd season of Saturday Night Live.

On June 12, 2008, Fox News announced it was hiring Huckabee as a political commentator and regular contributor to their 2008 American presidential election coverage, in their New York election headquarters.

Huckabee filled in for Paul Harvey in July 2008. A few months later, he signed a deal with ABC Radio Networks (now Cumulus Media Networks) to carry a daily commentary, The Huckabee Report, beginning in January 2009. After Harvey's death his show replaced Harvey's broadcasts. On April 15, 2015, Huckabee announced that The Huckabee Report would be ending May 1.

Huckabee hosted a weekend show, Huckabee, on Fox News Channel, which premiered Saturday, September 27, 2008, at 8 PM EST. For six weeks in summer 2010, Fox test-ran The Huckabee Show for the syndicated market; Huckabee was joined by guest co-hosts in the daily spin-off, among them Bob Barker of The Price Is Right fame. Huckabee ended on January 3, 2015, so that Huckabee could consider the possibility of running for president.

On April 2, 2012, Huckabee launched a long-form daily talk show on Cumulus Media Networks, who provide the call-in guests. The show, which is targeted at second-tier broadcast stations, features long-form interviews and discussions and airs in the noon to 3 p.m. time slot, directly opposite the market leader in talk radio, The Rush Limbaugh Show. On November 27, 2013, Huckabee announced that the show will have its final broadcast on December 12, 2013, stating that he and Cumulus Media mutually decided not to renew the contract.

In a December 2013 interview, Huckabee stated that he would be launching a news organization in partnership with Christian Media Corp. International.

In October 2017, the Huckabee show was relaunched, now produced by and aired on the Trinity Broadcasting Network. The show ended on January 11, 2025, after Huckabee was nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as ambassador to Israel.

Political positions

Abortion

Huckabee opposes any public funding for abortion, and believes that abortion should be legal only when the life of the mother is at risk. He stated that it would "most certainly" be a good day for America if Roe v. Wade were reversed by the Supreme Court. This ultimately occurred in 2022 with the landmark Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case.

Health care

Huckabee opposed President Obama's healthcare plan, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. He stated that he wants to "give citizens more control over their own healthcare choices."

Free trade

In his book From Hope to Higher Ground, Huckabee expressed support for free trade, but only if it is "fair trade". He identified excess litigation, excess taxation, and excess regulation as three factors contributing to the loss of American jobs, and has proposed economic sanctions on China.

Race relations

According to a CNN exit poll, Huckabee won 48% of African-American votes in his successful 1998 gubernatorial race in Arkansas. The 48% figure is often disputed due to the exit poll's small sample size. Huckabee says that it is important for Republicans such as himself to reach out to black voters, and in 2015, he ramped up efforts to win those votes.

In 2015, on an episode of Meet the Press, Huckabee stated that the confederate flag issue was for South Carolinians to decide, "not an issue for a person running for president," and days later, he congratulated Governor Nikki Haley on her decision to support the removal of the flag from the state capitol. Huckabee gave a speech at the 2008 Republican National Convention that included this: "I say with sincerity that I have great respect for Senator Obama's historic achievement to become his party's nominee—not because of his color, but with indifference to it. Party or politics aside, we celebrate this milestone because it elevates our country."

LGBT rights

Huckabee believes that marriage is between one man and one woman, and he opposes both same-sex marriage and civil unions. In 2006, he outlawed same-sex marriage in Arkansas; however, in 2007, he stated that Americans should "respect" gay couples. He says that adoptions should be child focused and opposes "gay adoptions". Huckabee, expounding upon his view on homosexuality, said the following:

This [gay marriage] is not just a political issue. It is a biblical issue. And as a biblical issue—unless I get a new version of the scriptures, it's really not my place to say, OK, I'm just going to evolve[.] ... It's like asking someone who's Jewish to start serving bacon-wrapped shrimp in their deli. We don't want to do that—I mean, we're not going to do that. Or like asking a Muslim to serve up something that is offensive to him, or to have dogs in his backyard[.] ... We're so sensitive to make sure we don't offend certain religions, but then we act like Christians can't have the convictions that they've had for 2,000 years.

In January 2015, he compared homosexuality to "drinking and swearing", insofar as it is "part of a lifestyle". Huckabee has stated he has gay friends, saying, "People can be my friends who have lifestyles that are not necessarily my lifestyle. I don't shut people out of my circle or out of my life because they have a different point of view[.]"

Role of religion in public life

Huckabee has voiced his belief in intelligent design and he has also stated that he does not believe that Darwin's theory of evolution is valid. In July 2004, he was quoted on Arkansans Ask, his regular show on the Arkansas Educational Television Network: "I think that students also should be given exposure to the theories not only of evolution but to the basis of those who believe in creationism."

In April 2011, Huckabee said, "I almost wish that there would be a simultaneous telecast and all Americans would be forced, at gunpoint, to listen to every David Barton message," in praise of the Christian revisionist author David Barton.

Within hours of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Huckabee made headlines in the U.S. and abroad for stating on Fox News: "We ask why there is violence in our schools, but we have systematically removed God from our schools," and he further asked, "Should we be so surprised that schools would become a place of carnage?"

In September 2014, Huckabee said, "Fire the ones who refuse to hear not only our hearts, but God's heart" (for which he was criticized by Richard Dawkins).

In September 2015, speaking about his support of religious freedom on behalf of Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis to radio host Michael Medved, Huckabee said, "Michael, the Dred Scott decision of 1857 still remains to this day the law of the land which says that black people aren't fully human. Does anybody still follow the Dred Scott Supreme Court decision?" (The decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford had been superseded by the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and nullified by the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.)

In June 2016, Huckabee, along with actor Pat Boone and executive producer Troy Duhon, all of whom were involved in the film God's Not Dead 2, sent a letter to California governor Jerry Brown opposing Senate Bill 1146, which "prohibits a person from being subjected to discrimination" at California colleges. Other than religious schools—those that train pastors and theology teachers—schools "might no longer be allowed to hire Christian-only staff, teach religious ideas in regular classes, require attendance at chapel services or keep bathrooms and dormitories restricted to either males or females."

Climate change

In 2023, Huckabee published Kids Guide to the Truth About Climate Change, which minimized the influence of human emissions on global warming. Marketed as an alternative to mainstream education, the publication does not attribute authorship or cite scientific credentials. The deputy director of the National Center for Science Education called the publication "propaganda" and "very unreliable as a guide to climate change for kids", noting that it represented "present day" atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide as 280 parts per million (ppm), which was true in 391 BC but short of 2023's actual concentration of 420 ppm.

Military

In 2007, Huckabee argued for a larger military and an increase in defense spending, writing, "Right now, we spend about 3.9 percent of our GDP on defense, compared with about six percent in 1986, under President Ronald Reagan. We need to return to that six percent level."

Immigration

During his 2016 bid for president, Huckabee released a nine-point immigration enforcement and border security plan. His plan included building a border fence, increased border patrol personnel, and increased visas for skilled workers who enter the country legally. Huckabee has previously stated he is opposed to using military resources for border patrol. Huckabee's plan also required all 11–12 million undocumented immigrants to register with the federal government and return to their home countries within 120 days. Failure to do so would carry a ten-year ban from entering the US.

Gun control

Huckabee has voiced his support for self-defense and the castle doctrine, and has generally taken an anti-gun control stance. He believes that the concealed carrying of weapons should be allowed.

Fiscal policy

As governor of Arkansas, Huckabee received grades of B in 1998, C in 2000, C in 2002, D in 2004, and F in 2006 from the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, in their biennial Fiscal Policy Report Card on America's Governors.

Israel and Palestine

Huckabee is a strong supporter of Israel, opposing Palestinian statehood and rejecting Palestinian identity as "a political tool to try and force land away from Israel". In 2008, Huckabee said that there is "really no such thing as a Palestinian". In 2017, at an event in the West Bank, he stated, "There is no such thing as a West Bank—it's Judea and Samaria. There's no such thing as a settlement. They're communities. They're neighborhoods. They're cities. There's no such thing as an occupation."

Huckabee described the October 7 attacks in 2023 as "horrific" and "beyond anything I've ever witnessed in my lifetime".

On June 1, 2025, Huckabee said that if France wanted a Palestinian state, it should "carve" it out of the French Riviera. On July 25, he posted on X a link to a Jewish News Syndicate staff article titled "France to recognize Palestinian state, drawing Israeli, US reproach", and wrote, "How clever! If Macron can just 'declare' the existence of a state perhaps the UK can 'declare' France a British colony!"

In July 2026, speaking at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Huckabee stated that 700,000 Americans live in Israel, roughly equivalent to the representation of an American congressional district and called Israel the "436th congressional district of the U.S."

Personal life

Music

Huckabee is an amateur musician who plays the bass guitar in his classic-rock cover band, Capitol Offense. The group has played for political events and parties, including entertaining at unofficial inaugural balls in Washington, D.C., in January 2001.

In 2007, Huckabee was given the Music for Life Award by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) for his music education advocacy.

Organizations

Huckabee was made the chair of the Southern Governors' Association in 1999 and served in that capacity through 2000. He has chaired the Southern Growth Policies Board, the Southern Regional Education Board, the Southern Technology Council, the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, and the Education Commission of the States. He is also a member of the Republican Governors Association and former chairman of the National Governors Association. Huckabee is chairman of the conservative political action committees Vertical Politics Institute and Huck PAC.

In 2006, Huckabee was initiated as an honorary member of Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE) Fraternity, motivated in part by his son David being an involved TKE member at Arkansas State University.

In July 2010, Huckabee became a fundraiser on behalf of for-profit Victory University in Memphis, Tennessee, and was designated Chancellor of the Victory University Foundation.

Huckabee was appointed to the Board of Trustees of the Kennedy Center by President Donald Trump in March 2019. His term on the board expired in September 2024.

Weight loss and advocacy of good health

When he was elected governor of Arkansas, Huckabee was obese. In 2003, physicians diagnosed him with type 2 diabetes, and they also informed him that he would not live more than 10 years if he did not lose weight. Huckabee acknowledges that he has weighed as much as 300 pounds (140 kg). Coupled with the death of former Governor Frank D. White, whose obesity contributed to a fatal heart attack, his diagnosis prompted Huckabee to begin eating healthier and exercising. He lost over 110 pounds (50 kg). The New York Times called the weight loss so rapid that "it was as if he simply unzipped a fat suit and stepped out."

Although Huckabee has stated that he never smoked and he never drank alcohol, he declared himself a "recovering foodaholic." Huckabee has publicly recounted his previous burdens as an obese man: the steps of the Arkansas capitol from the entrance of the building up to the Governor's office were so long and steep that he would be out of breath and exhausted by the time he reached the top of the stairs. Huckabee has discussed his weight loss and used healthcare reform as a major focus of his governorship.

At an August 2007 forum on cancer which was hosted by Lance Armstrong, Huckabee said that he would support the imposition of a federal smoking ban, but since then, he has stated that he believes that the issue is best addressed by state and local governments.

Huckabee has completed several marathons: the 2005 Marine Corps Marathon, the 2005 and 2006 Little Rock Marathon, and the 2006 New York City Marathon. The 2005 Little Rock Marathon featured an impromptu challenge between Huckabee and Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack. Huckabee completed the marathon in 4:38:31, defeating Vilsack by 50 minutes. He wrote a book chronicling his weight-loss experience, Quit Digging Your Grave with a Knife and Fork. Huckabee was one of 10 recipients of a 2006 AARP Impact Award acknowledging his work as a "health crusader."

In 2009, Huckabee acknowledged that he had gained back a quarter of his weight due to a foot condition that prevented him from running.