5 things to know about new US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee

3. He ran for president twice

Following his 10-year stint as governor of Arkansas, Huckabee emerged as a leading contender for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination.

According to the Green Papers, which tracks presidential primary results, Huckabee won 20.12% of the popular vote in the 2008 Republican presidential primaries, coming in third place behind eventual nominee John McCain and 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney. 

Huckabee carried five states in the presidential primaries, won the Iowa caucuses that kicked off the presidential nominating season, caucuses in Kansas and a presidential convention in West Virginia. However, he dropped out of the race in early March after the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., secured enough delegates to become his party’s presidential nominee in the 2008 presidential election. 

Eight years later, Huckabee sought the Republican nomination in the 2016 presidential election. In his second White House bid, statistics compiled by The Green Papers show that Huckabee captured just 0.16% of the popular vote in the Republican primaries.

Huckabee dropped out of the presidential nominating contest after the Iowa caucuses. Although he carried the state eight years earlier, Huckabee ranked ninth in the 2016 Iowa caucuses, winning less than 2% of the vote.