Mike Huckabee, the Baptist minister-turned-politician whom evangelicals are pushing to be U.S. Sen. John McCain's running mate, is coming to Lancaster County — less than a month before the election.
The former Arkansas governor is scheduled to speak at a Pennsylvania Family Institute banquet being held at the Lancaster Host Resort on Oct. 11, said the conservative group's director, Michael Geer.
"Governor Huckabee, even prior to his entrance into politics and as a private citizen, has always shown and expressed concern about the same sorts of issues as the Pennsylvania Family Institute — the well-being of the family, the sanctity of marriage, being pro-life," Geer said.
"I'm very confident he'll speak about some of the things a Pennsylvania Family Institute audience will be concerned about," said Geer. "We're getting quite a lot of interest. We're getting calls from all across the state."
Tickets are $50 a person.
The Host event, being held at 6:30 p.m., is expected to draw some 1,100 people.
Earlier in the day, Geer's group is holding a luncheon for Huckabee in Chester County. Tickets to that event, being held at noon at the Mendenhall Inn, Hotel & Conference Center in Mendenhall, are also $50 per person.
Huckabee had sought the Republican nomination for president earlier this year, but withdrew from the race in March when it became clear that McCain was the frontrunner.
Huckabee remains popular among religious conservatives, so popular that earlier this month a group of evangelical leaders meeting in Denver, Colo., agreed to send a letter to McCain encouraging him to consider Huckabee as his choice for vice president.
For tickets or more information about about Huckabee's speech in Lancaster, call Ruth Wilson at (800) 326-4591 or e-mail
rwilson@pafamily.org.
Staff writer Tom Murse can be reached at tmurse@LNPnews.com or 481-6021.
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