Funny thing. In recent days, both Sen. Mark Pryor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee (his nine-point plan on the jump) have plans to crack down on unauthorized immigrants. Though Pryor doesn’t yet have a Republican opponent in 2008, some rumors have linked Rogers Mayor Steve Womack with a potential Republican race. You couldn’t get to the right of Womack on immigration (nor, we hope, would even Mark Pryor want to). But no harm in looking tough.
Huckabee has a more pressing need to polish his immigration record. As Ernie Dumas noted in detail this week, Huckabee has been admirably tolerant on the immigrant question. Tolerance, however, is not considered a virtue in Republican primaries, particularly in places such as Iowa, where evangelicals predominate in the tiny (4 percent of Iowa residents) caucus participant pool. UPDATE: Here, Kos rips Huck.
On the Pryor-Huckabee topic: Huckabee’s strong performance as a presidential candidate (now second in many polls) is good for Pryor. Republican moneybags badly want Huckabee to oppose Pryor and shore up what is shaping up as a weak Republican effort for congressional seats across the country. With the filing deadline in March and Huckabee likely very much alive as a presidential candidate at that time, he wouldn’t be able to commit then to a race for Senate. (He’s said he’s not interested, but he will need work if he doesn’t make the presidential ticket.)
UPDATE: I’m now told that Womack rumor is old news. He was courted and declined. Not going to happen. Here’s a theory, too. Is it smart presidential politics for the Republican Party to move mountains and raise tons of money to come up with sacrificial candidates for races against Pryor, Berry, Ross, etc.? Would this not only put the Democratic GOTV campaign in high gear in pursuit of voter blocs that tend to vote overwhelmingly Democratic? Not helpful to a Republican presidential candidate. Whoever it is would have a presumptive good shot at carrying Arkansas.