Huckabee Plans 2-Day Oklahoma Tour

The Oklahoma Republican Party announced Friday that Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee will conduct a two-day tour of Oklahoma next week to benefit the state party's efforts to support GOP candidates.

Huckabee is considered a possible candidate for the Republican nomination for president in 2008.

Huckabee's tour begins Wednesday with a five-kilometer run in Tulsa at 7 a.m. Later, he will participate in press availability at the Doubletree-Warren Place Hotel (Parkview West Room) in Tulsa at approximately 10:15 a.m.

Other activities include a noon luncheon in Bartlesville and two afternoon receptions; one in Pawhuska to benefit Eddie Fields, Republican candidate for House District 36, and one in Sapulpa for Brian Bingman, Republican candidate for Senate District 12. That evening he will headline a roundtable session, reception and dinner at the Doubletree Hotel to benefit the Oklahoma Republican Party.

The morning of October 12th, Huckabee will host a breakfast in Oklahoma City for his PAC, Hope for America, followed by a reception in Del City for Rex Barrett, candidate for House District 94. For lunch, Huckabee will headline a roundtable session in Norman on behalf of the state GOP. His schedule will conclude with an afternoon press conference in Oklahoma City on the steps of the State Capitol.

Huckabee became Arkansas' 44th elected governor after winning the November 1998 election with the highest percentage of the vote ever received by a Republican gubernatorial nominee in Arkansas. He was elected to another four-year term in November 2002.

Huckabee is the immediate past chairman of the National Governors Association and the past chairman of the education commission on the states. Among his other roles, he previously served as chairman of the 37-state Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission. Huckabee was named "Public Official of the Year" by Governing magazine in 2005. He was also recognized by Time as one of the top five governors in the country.

Currently ranked as the second-most senior governor in the country, Huckabee is recognized as a national leader in health care reform. One of several key initiatives, the governor created the ARKids First program, a initiative that provides health insurance to tens of thousands of children who previously had no access to health coverage. He also led a ballot initiative in 2000 that devotes all of the state's tobacco settlement money to improving the health of Arkansans.

Huckabee's efforts to improve his own health have received national attention as well. Diagnosed with Type II diabetes in 2003, he lost 110 pounds.

Earlier this month, Huckabee was asked to participate in a national get-out-the-vote effort sponsored by the Republican National Committee. He has campaigned on behalf of GOP candidates, state parties and organizations. Through his PAC, Hope for America, he has visited more than 20 states, including Oklahoma.

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