Huckabee, Thompson compete over Reagan

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee on Friday said he’s more of a Reagan Republican than former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.).

{mosads}Huckabee struck back a day after Thompson insisted in a GOP debate that he is the candidate in the true mold of former President Ronald Reagan.

Huckabee, speaking to reporters on a conference call from Michigan, said Thompson’s claims to be a Reagan conservative are inconsistent given his support for former President Gerald Ford in 1976 and former Sen. Howard Baker (R-Tenn.) in 1980 when both were running for the GOP presidential nomination against Reagan.

“I appreciate his conversion, but some of us were with Ronald Reagan in the early years,” Huckabee said.

The comments came less than 24 hours after Thompson made it clear in a debate in South Carolina that Huckabee is his number one target.

Not shying away from the battle, Huckabee downplayed Thompson as a threat, saying the former senator accomplished next to nothing during his eight years in the Senate.

“I honestly don’t see him being as much of a factor as I think most of us would have thought,” Huckabee said.

Both men see South Carolina as crucial to winning the nomination, but Huckabee is also making an effort to compete in Michigan, which holds its primary Tuesday. Huckabee campaigned in the state Friday, meeting with Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and speaking about the economy at the Detroit Economic Club.

Huckabee is in what looks to be a three-person race in Michigan despite his convincing win in the Iowa caucuses.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney enjoys longtime connections to the state where his father was a three-term governor and his mother was a Senate candidate. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) also continues to enjoy a wealth of goodwill in Michigan, where he defeated then-Gov. George W. Bush in 2000.

Huckabee said he has seen polls “that show us to be more competitive than probably most people would think.”

“Logically, we shouldn’t be in the mix here at all, but we are,” Huckabee said.