A similar flier attacking Huckabee was distributed in Iowa earlier this week.
GREENVILLE, South Carolina (CNN) – As Mike Huckabee surges in the polls, his Republican rivals are beginning to take aim at his record as governor of Arkansas. But in conservative Iowa and South Carolina, it appears Huckabee should probably start bracing for anonymous attacks as well.
Mysterious fliers attempting to paint Huckabee as too liberal for Republican primary voters were left on car windshields outside of a campaign event in Greenville on Saturday.
Under the banner, "Mike Huckabee – a 'True' Conservative?," the flier blasts Huckabee on immigration and taxes, and accuses the former Arkansas governor of "lying" about his role in the Wayne Dumond parole controversy.
[Read the flier here.]
It quotes a 2005 Arkansas News article that paraphrased Huckabee as saying, "Arkansas needs to make the transition from a traditional Southern state to one that recognizes and cherishes diversity and culture."
"Is something wrong with our Southern Christian culture?," the flier asks.
Huckabee has a commanding lead in Iowa, according to a new poll.
WASHINGTON (CNN) - A new poll of Iowa voters conducted this week seems to show Mike Huckabee surging past the rest of the Republican field, beating his closest rival, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, by 22 points among Republicans, 39 to 17 percent.
In the latest Newsweek poll, released Friday, former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson slides to 10 percent, down from 16 in the last survey. No other candidate rates higher than single digit support.
Polling in Iowa is notoriously difficult because of the unpredictable nature of caucus attendance. And most recent surveys have pictured a much tighter race.
Still, the poll, conducted December 5 and 6, comes after weeks of momentum for the former Arkansas governor’s campaign, fueled by increased support from social conservatives, who form a major bloc of Iowa’s GOP caucus-goers.
Among likely Republican caucus-goers, the margin is just as wide. Fifty-seven percent name Huckabee as their first or second choice, and 39 percent give Romney as their first or second choice. Again, Thompson is third, with just 20 percent.
The Romney campaign said that the new survey showed a crowded field narrowing to a two-man race. “Iowa is in a competitive state right now as far as public polling is concerned,” said Kevin Madden, Romney’s spokesman, in an e-mail to CNN.
He also cast Mitt Romney as the campaign’s new underdog. "Mike Huckabee is leading and with that lead comes much higher expectations and a greater degree of scrutiny of his weak position on immigration and his penchant for big spending and higher taxes," he said.
A senior Romney adviser tells CNN's John King on the condition of anonymity that the poll result is "not a surprise" and there is "not a lot of time to turn them around," while another adviser says the 22 point lead for Huckabee sounds "a little extreme but he (Huckabee) is the moving part out there."
DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) - Sen. Hillary Clinton's mother, Dorothy Rodham, was the surprise guest at a "Take Your Buddy to Caucus," event in Des Moines Friday night.
Sen. Clinton told the crowd of about 500 that she brought her mom as her buddy. She also noted that the last time her mother was in Iowa was 53 years ago.
Someone in the crowd yelled, "welcome back."
Mrs. Rodham sat down without making any comments.
The Senator encouraged the crowd to "buddy up" and bring an extra person to caucus.
Sen. Clinton also noted that the event site, East High School in Des Moines was where she started her presidential campaign.
The Clinton campaign announced that both Dorothy Rodham, and Clinton's daughter, Chelsea, would join the New York senator on the campaign trail in Iowa on Saturday.
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-CNN Producer Matt Hoye
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