Huckabee's White House bid gets evangelical boost in Bellevue

Presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor, picked up a major Christian-community endorsement Thursday in his swing through Bellevue.

The Republican candidate was endorsed by Joseph Fuiten, pastor of Cedar Park Church in Bothell, and 29 other evangelical faith-community leaders from the area.

The announcement was made at a small but enthusiastic fundraising luncheon at the Harbor Club in Bellevue.

"The governor represents our values," Fuiten said after the event. "I like that he believes, and I like what he believes. His Christianity is organic; he has been this way all his life."

Huckabee, a former Southern Baptist minister, left the campaign trail in Iowa to make appearances in Arizona, California and Washington.

A CBS News/New York Times poll released Wednesday showed him gaining ground in Iowa, trailing only Mitt Romney among Republican voters.

In Bellevue, Sarah Ridlaub of Mercer Island served as luncheon emcee and teased Huckabee about not eating. He ate the salad course but skipped the chicken entree.

In 2003 he was diagnosed with Type II diabetes. He lost 110 pounds and started exercising. He has completed four marathons and plans to run the Boston Marathon in April.

His most grueling race, however, may be his run to achieve name recognition outside Arkansas. So far his campaign in Iowa and New Hampshire has been on a meet-and-greet basis — not media focused. He plans to launch television ads next week.

Huckabee had no trouble engaging the more than 40 people at the luncheon.

He advocated an overhaul of the American tax system by eliminating the income tax, adding a national sales tax and reducing the myriad of taxes on businesses.

He also took a firm stance on illegal immigration.

"It is harder to get on an airplane at Sea-Tac than it is to cross our borders illegally," Huckabee said. "There should be no amnesty and no sanctuary cities."

But he added that people wanting to enter the country legally should not get stuck waiting for paperwork.

"I do thank God that I live in a country people are trying to get into and not get out of," he said. "But when people have to wait seven to 12 years to get legal permission to come pick lettuce, something's not working."

On the issue of health care, Huckabee said Americans spend too much on treating illnesses and not enough on disease prevention. He said he wants to launch a Healthy America Initiative similar to one he started in Arkansas that gave people time off work for being healthy.

Huckabee is an anti-abortion candidate and signed legislation outlawing same-sex marriage in Arkansas.

Diane Sundquist of Lynnwood, who was at the luncheon, is surveying all the candidates before deciding whom to support. She worries about the high cost of running for political office both in terms of dollars and what it does to a candidate's personal life.

"I'm happy and surprised that anyone wants to run for anything," she said. "You shouldn't have to spend a million or zillion dollars to get elected."

Sherry Grindeland: 206-515-5633 or sgrindeland@seattletimes.com