With Mike Huckabee drawing attention in South Carolina for remarks about the Confederate flag and gay marriage, new polls have the former Arkansas governor drawing even with—or ahead of—John McCain ahead of tomorrow's Republican presidential primary. Huckabee stood up yesterday for the right of sons of the South to display the flag, which McCain called "a racist symbol."
A conservative group is airing radio ads praising Huckabee for his flag-waving, CBS News reports. His remarks on same-sex marriage this week irked gay groups charging he compared the practice to bestiality. The result, reports the Baltimore Sun, could be a poll bounce that shows a statistical dead heat with McCain or, in one unreleased survey, a four-point lead for Huckabee. (More gay marriage stories.)