Huckabee: If the GOP avoids social issues, it's a sure way to lose in 2016

Mike Huckabee with reporters in Tinley Park Friday - Photo credit: Al Ashworth

TINLEY PARK - At the RISE Initiative at the Tinley Park Convention Center Friday, GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee answered a question asked by an Illinois Review reporter:

"Social conservatives in Illinois are feeling pushed out of their Party. Could you address that issue as to how important it is for social conservatives stay involved ... in whatever party they pick?" 

The governor, who will be among the top 10 GOP candidates to participate in next Thursday night's GOP candidate forum in Cleveland, responded:

 "Let’s be very clear - if the people in the pro-life, pro-family element of the Republican Party all bail out, we can be sure that we will not win another election. Because every time we nominate someone who is a strong pro-life, pro-family candidate -especially for president - we win. When we don’t, we lose. 

"I keep hearing people say, 'Let's not touch these issues,' and I keep thinking, 'Well, if we really want to keep losing, that’s the most effective method I can think of.' What we need to be doing is giving people who are faith voters, who are - by the way - economic conservatives and they’re also national security conservatives - they're "full-spectrum" conservatives. 

"We need to be making sure that we have candidates that inspire them and make them want to go vote.

"Here’s a fact: If Mitt Romney had had four percent more of the evangelical voters in 2012 - just evangelicals - that doesn’t even include the pro-life Catholics and other mainstream Christian denominational people - just four percent of the evangelicals - he’d be President Romney today. 

"And we cannot assume that we can win national elections by moving away from issues that matter to people - fundamental issues of life and death - we need to believe that we will win elections when we’re inclusive with those issues.” 

The audio: Huckabee on social conservatives