Mike Huckabee is a Republican presidential candidate who I find more exciting and in line with my personal political views than any of the other candidates, and while early this year he may have looked like just one of the many second-tier candidates with little chance of success, now he is starting to look like a surprisingly viable candidate with an amazingly strong campaign in spite of fundraising difficulties and a lack of star power.

According to this Iowa poll of likely caucus voters, Mike Huckabee is now in third place at 12%, behind Mitt Romney at 29% and Fred Thompson at 18%. Seeing Huckabee shoot ahead of Giuliani (at 11%) or McCain (7%) is pretty shocking. How can this so-called second-tier candidate be doing so well? Other recent polls from New Hampshire, South Carolina, and a few other key battleground states show him holding his own, though not in a prominent position like in Iowa.

I think the reason Mike Huckabee is doing well is because he’s resonating with voters who don’t trust the GOP establishment and want a candidate with home town values and a strong faith center yet who can articulate his positions on difficult and complex domestic and global issues and can effectively communicate with and confront if necessary the mainstream media. Fred Thompson at one point seemed like he might be the man of the hour, but the more that people get to know him and see him in action, the less likable and impressive he is. It’ll be interesting to see how he holds up in the next few Republican debates — if he doesn’t come out swinging, he may be toast.

I’m not endorsing any candidate on this blog, nor am I interested in holding up any candidate as “the one” in lieu of any other. But I will continue to monitor Huckabee’s campaign because I like what I see. As always, may the best man win (and not the man with the treasure chest or the TV show personality).