"If the California primary was right out of the chute, Carter never would have been president," said Mark Lundberg, chairman of Iowa's Sioux County Republican Party.
For Huckabee and Brownback, the key to Iowa is to show they hew to conservative orthodoxy. Frequent visits, they hope, could lead to a strong showing in an Ames, Iowa, straw poll in August, drawing attention and money.
If "we run on our principles, we will win," Brownback said at the Wig and Pen tavern.
A former Kansas agriculture secretary, Brownback, 50, won the Senate seat vacated by Bob Dole in 1996.
He grew up on a farm near Parker, Kan., where his parents still live. Raised a Methodist, he converted to Catholicism. He opposes stem cell research and considers homosexual conduct immoral. He favors banning all abortions except when the woman's life is endangered.
Borrowing language that George W. Bush used to appeal to moderates in the 2000 presidential race, Brownback describes himself as a "compassionate conservative" who would fight global poverty and genocide in Sudan.
But Brownback and Huckabee have one source of tension with conservatives: They favor steps to legalize undocumented immigrants.
At a recent barbecue with Republicans in a Des Moines suburb, retired nurse Wanda Sears told Brownback: "If they're illegal, get them home."
Huckabee faces further strain with conservatives because of his mixed record on taxes in Arkansas.
"Look, he supported a number of tax increases, and this is not helpful," said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, a group that nonetheless got Huckabee to sign a pledge not to raise taxes if elected president.
Born in Hope, Ark., President Clinton's hometown, Huckabee was a preacher and broadcaster who became governor in 1996.
The author of several books, including a diet guide inspired by his dramatic weight loss, Huckabee emphasizes arts education and healthcare to broaden his appeal.
"I'm more a 'thou shalt' than a 'thou shalt not' kind of believer," Huckabee said before lunch at an Italian restaurant with Republicans in Sioux City, Iowa.
"I'm not a candidate who goes to the evangelicals," Huckabee said. "I come from them."
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michael.finnegan@latimes.com
