Mike Huckabee launched his campaign for president on Tuesday, May 5 — and he already has his first celebrity supporters! The former Arkansas governor announced his intent to run at an event in Hope, Ark., where he was joined by none other than Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar and a few of their 19 children.
“Here in this small town called Hope, I was raised to believe that where a person started didn’t mean that’s where he had to stop,” Huckabee, 59, told supporters. “So it seems perfectly fitting that it would be here that I announce that I am a candidate for President of the United States of America.”
After the big reveal on Tuesday, 19 Kids and Counting star Jim Bob took to Facebook with a photo of his family at Huckabee’s event, as well as a message about his political views.
“I know all of you are not political and many of you may be supporting someone else but I want to respectfully share our hearts with you about the 2016 presidential race,” he wrote after the rally. “America needs Governor Huckabee for president! I am so very pleased to endorse him.”
The Duggar family patriarch, 49, went on to cite some of Huckabee’s accomplishments as governor, before highlighting his past as a Southern Baptist pastor.
“Importantly he is a man of faith who is very wise, and will help get our nation back on track,” Jim Bob wrote. “Simply, he’s a leader who will bring the moral clarity we need in the White House…The Duggar family asks all Republicans to join us in helping Governor Mike Huckabee become the next President of the United States of America.”
Huckabee, who also sought the nomination back in 2008, is the sixth Republican candidate to join the 2016 race. Other hopefuls include Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, and Carly Fiorina, plus Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders on the Democratic side.
