South keeps Huckabee alive

After a series of victories in the South and border states Tuesday, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee insisted he can still secure the Republican presidential nomination, promising supporters that he would be the “one guy answering the bell every time there’s a new round.”

While he remains far behind front-runner Sen. John McCain of Arizona in the contest for delegates to this summer’s Republican nominating convention, Huckabee captured enough states Tuesday -- at least five -- to establish himself as a viable conservative alternative.

The showing made Huckabee, rather than former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the second-strongest Republican in the nationwide round of voting.

“I believe that one of the things you’re seeing across this nation is that people are saying the conservatives do have a choice,” Huckabee told his cheering supporters in Little Rock, Ark., late Tuesday. “Because the conservatives have a voice and tonight they’re getting a chance to express that . . . they’ll get to continue expressing that choice and that voice.”

Television pundits were praising Huckabee for hanging tough in the Republican race, although he was being outspent many times over, particularly by Romney.

The candidate compared himself in an interview with CNN’s Campbell Brown to Sunday’s long-shot Super Bowl champions, the New York Giants.

“It still is a land of the people,” Huckabee said, “and we’re going to continue to prove that even with limited resources but lots of heart, the presidency can belong to the people of this country.”

Flanked by his wife, Janet, Huckabee added: “We’re proving that we’re still on our feet and much to the amazement of many, we’re getting there, folks, we’re getting there.”