Huckabee and his advisors reiterated Friday that he was not running for vice president. "We're running for president," campaign chairman Ed Rollins said.
GOP contests today in Kansas, Louisiana and Washington will test Huckabee's strength against McCain, as will Tuesday primaries in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia.
Strong showings by him in some of these contests -- following his successes in the South this week on Super Tuesday -- would bolster his political credentials.
Still, virtually no one sees Huckabee positioned to stem McCain's march toward a majority of convention delegates. Some party operatives say Huckabee could jeopardize the clout he has gained if he stays in the race much beyond the upcoming contests.
"He and McCain appear to have a very cordial, respectful and almost affectionate relationship at the moment," said GOP strategist Whit Ayres, who is nonaligned in the race. "It would be wise not to undermine that if you're in Huckabee's shoes."
President Bush weighed in on the GOP contest Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, but without naming McCain or Huckabee. "We've had good debates, and soon we'll have a nominee who will carry a conservative banner into this election and beyond," he said.
Taking little for granted, McCain continued campaigning Friday, with stops in Virginia, Kansas and Washington. And he continued to resist putting any overt pressure on Huckabee to drop out. "I don't want to in any way sidestep the candidacy of Gov. Huckabee," McCain said in Norfolk, Va., according to the Associated Press. "He's in this race, and for me to dismiss him would be inappropriate and unrealistic."
Huckabee expressed hope that an endorsement Thursday from social conservative James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, would build new support for his campaign. "He's still got a lot of credibility with people across the country and is looked to as the remaining maybe mega-giant in evangelical circles," Huckabee said.
Researchers at MSNBC television calculated that Huckabee must win 93% of the delegates at stake in GOP contests over the next four months to clinch his party's nomination.
Faced with that statistic, Huckabee campaign manager Chip Saltsman told the network Friday: "We know we've got to have a good rally here in the fourth quarter to win."
