Huckabee Closing the Gap in South Carolina:

Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson are tied for the lead in South Carolina’s Republican Presidential Primary.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey finds both men earning 21% of the vote from Likely Primary Voters. That’s a big change from September when Thompson was on top with support from 24% and Romney trailed the frontrunner by nine percentage points…

Trailing the two leaders are Rudy Giuliani at 13%, Mike Huckabee at 12%, John McCain at 9%, and Ron Paul at 8%. Tom Tancredo and Duncan Hunter each earn support from 2% while 13% are undecided (see crosstabs).

Those numbers reflect a seven-point drop for Giuliani, a nine-point gain for Huckabee, little change for McCain, and a six-point jump for Paul. (From HotAir)

Huckabee passes Romney:

In the Republican race, Giuliani widened his lead over Thompson to 14 points, 29 percent to 15 percent, compared to last month’s 28 percent to 20 percent lead.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee jumped over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney into third place. Huckabee had 11 percent, with Romney and Arizona Sen. John McCain at 9 percent.

A growing number of Republicans, 21 percent, said they have not made up their mind, leaving room for more changes in the field. The shifting numbers, after months of a relatively static race, could indicate voters around the country are beginning to pay attention to the 2008 race, Zogby said. (From MSNBC)

Huckabee’s Thanksgiving Survival Plan:

One other note: in the spirit of the Thanksgiving Holiday I asked the once obese Huck — who went through a memorable weight-loss of about 110 pounds a few years ago — whether Turkey Day posed a temptation.

“I’m just not as, I guess, maybe focused on wanting to overeat,” he said. “And, you know, some of the things that I used to just couldn’t stop eating, I don’t have the desire for them now. So it’s not as difficult as it would have been years ago.”

Huck said he’ll “have a nice meal on Thanksgiving, but I probably won’t just gorge myself, and I won’t eat sugar desserts, and I won’t eat anything fried.”

No unbuckling the belt, post-feast, in a food coma?

“Oh, my gosh, I hope not,” he said. “I’m actually hoping to go out and get a nice, long run in Thanksgiving Day and try to make up for whatever I do eat.”

Now that is dedication.

(From Jake Tapper, ABC News)

Huckabee makes gains in GOP base:

Propelled by little more than his message and political skills, Republican presidential contender former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has vaulted into a statistical dead heat for first place in crucial, first-in-the-nation caucus state Iowa, according to a new ABC News/Washington Post poll. (This is a long article from ABC News, but worth the time to read).