There are some conservatives that are wondering why Mike Huckabee is still in the race to become the GOP nominee.  He’s far behind in delegate counts and in a winner take all race he has a lot of catching up to do to overcome McCain’s lead.

Although a lot of conservatives aren’t happy with McCain as the nominee they are learning to except it and want to get on with the bigger mission of securing their base and making a seemingly centrist McCain more palatable to those on the left. 

But Huckabee won’t to away.

“I didn’t major in math,” the former Arkansas governor told a cheering crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference meeting earlier in the day. “I majored in miracles, and I still believe in them.” (Associated Press)

After wins over the weekend and heading into today’s Potomac primaries Huckabee is struggling to show that he is the best hope for true conservatives in ‘08.  And one group strongly believes it: black conservatives.

Don Scoggins, president of Republicans for Black Empowerment, told the Christian Post, “He (Huckabee) does not waver from his views and we know that he is not a recent convert to conservatism…  And we like that his life story pretty much mirrored the background of many African Americans.  He comes from humble beginnings, he’s worked hard, and gone to college – first one in his family who has graduated from high school. We feel that his life story is something to be emulated.”

For years many black conservatives criticized the stronghold Democrats had on the African American vote.   Some black conservatives have held that being in the Democratic camp has given both parties the power to discount African Americans; Democrats by taking the black vote for granted and Republicans for believing blacks won’t vote for a Republican candidate.  Even polarizing issues such as gay marriage and abortion that many African American Christians agree with conservatives on hasn’t pulled more blacks out of the Democratic camp.

Yet within the past decade names like JC Watt, Colin Powell and Condoleeza Rice have emerged as prominent figures for black conservatives to look to.  There’s even a black presidential candidate on the republican side.  Former Maryland senator Alan Keyes is making his third bid for the presidency.  Keyes last political race was in 2004, when republicans brought him into Illinois to run against Barack Obama for the U.S. senate seat.  Included in three debates, Keyes has not been invited to anymore although he is now on the ballot in 24 states including Texas.  Keyes claims that there is a “concerted effort on the part of both the media and elements of the Republican establishment” to keep him from being heard.

Conservative blacks aren’t in support of Keyes,  Huckabee is their man.  In a political race that has made race and gender both an issue and not an issue, black conservatives are looking at who most aligns with their agenda. 

Catherine Davis, legislative director of the Network of Politically Active Christians and member of executive committee of Georgians for Huckabee, concluded, “I encourage every other American – black, white, pink or green – to join me and to join us who are here today to give him (Huckabee) their support and saying to Mike, ‘Hold on. Do not withdraw from this race. Do not fall into the media hype, because those like me in this nation are going to support you and rush you into the White House,’” Davis encouraged. (Christian Post)