McCain, Huckabee campaigns to meet

By Gordon Trowbridge - Detroit News
Tuesday, August 12, 2008 - Web Link
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August 12, 2008

Michigan supporters of Mike Huckabee's campaign will hold a pair of meetings Wednesday with John McCain's presidential campaign, and among their goals will be to convince the Republican nominee not to name Mitt Romney as his running mate.

McCain himself is tentatively scheduled to meet Wednesday with about 10 social conservative activists and religious leaders from around Michigan, according to two people familiar with the arrangements. Separately, about 40 Huckabee supporters will meet Wednesday evening in Saginaw with a McCain campaign liaison to social conservatives, said Debra Matney, a Huckabee supporter from Fairgrove in Michigan's Thumb who is helping to organize the event.

Marlys Popma, an Iowa social conservative activist who heads up McCain's outreach to evangelical conservatives, will represent McCain at the Saginaw meeting, Matney said.

Leah Yoon, a spokeswoman for the McCain campaign, confirmed that McCain plans to meet with "grass-roots and faith-based leaders" during his Michigan visit on Wednesday.

McCain's vice presidential selection is likely to be a major topic at both meetings. Matney said Huckabee supporters want the former Arkansas governor on the ticket; failing that, she said, many would oppose Romney. While the Michigan native and former Massachusetts governor got significant support from many conservatives during his primary campaign, others say they are suspicious of his relatively recent move to social conservative positions on issues such as abortion and gay marriage.