Mike Huckabee, 2012 | featured news

Mike Huckabee has been approached by conservative activists unhappy with the current crop of Republican and presidential hopefuls, sources told Reuters, but the former Arkansas governor said he is not seriously considering a run.

Former Govs. Mitt Romney from Massachusetts and Sarah Palin from Alaska are fighting for the lead in national preferences for the 2012 Republican nomination after the exit of real estate mogul Donald Trump and ex-Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, according to the latest Gallup poll. But the survey also shows a new candidate who could make a difference in the race: former Godfather's Pizza CEO Herman Cain.

Mike Huckabee took his presidential tease to a new level on Saturday, leaving his closest advisers in the dark as the former Arkansas governor prepared to announce on his Fox News Channel show whether he would move toward another White House bid.

Republicans Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee hold a slight lead over President Barack Obama in a new poll of Florida residents on next year's presidential election. If the election were held now, 48 percent said they would vote for Romney while 43 percent preferred Obama. Huckabee was favored 49 percent to 44 percent in the same matchup. The two former governors were the only Republicans leading the incumbent president in a survey of 800 likely voters taken between April 4 and April 7 by Washington-based Mason-Dixon Polling and Research. The random telephone survey, which had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points was completed the day before Obama and Congress announced their compromise on the federal budget.