Mike Huckabee for Ambassador: A Steadfast Ally of Israel

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is President Donald Trump’s nominee to be the U.S. Ambassador to Israel. Trump said Huckabee “loves Israel and the people of Israel and likewise, the people of Israel love him.” A vocal supporter of Israel’s sovereignty, Huckabee has led more than 100 trips to Israel for evangelicals and also advocated for the relocation of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem. (ACLJ Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow was present for this historic event.)

Huckabee once said, “Everything that I embrace as a Christian is rooted in the promises that God gave to the Jewish people.” Huckabee has the support of many evangelicals and Zionist Jews as the right choice for U.S. Ambassador to Israel.

Early Years

Mike Huckabee was born in Hope, Arkansas, in 1955, to Dorsey Huckabee, a firefighter, and Mae Huckabee, who worked for the Louisiana Transit Company. Huckabee’s family joined a Southern Baptist church in 1965. He married his high school sweetheart, Janet McCain, in 1974, with whom he has three children.

Huckabee studied religion at Ouachita Baptist University, attaining his degree in 1975. Afterward, he attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary for his master’s degree. He pastored several churches in Arkansas. In 1989, he became president of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention. As he served in this position, people encouraged Huckabee to consider politics.

Entry Into Politics

In 1992, Huckabee ran as the Republican candidate to unseat Dale Bumpers, a popular U.S. Senator who had been in office for over 15 years. He lost the race but ran for an open Arkansas lieutenant governor position the next year and was victorious. Elected in “Bill Clinton’s Arkansas,” Huckabee was not welcomed with open arms and found the door to his office nailed shut on his first day in office as lieutenant governor.

Huckabee ran for the U.S. Senate again in 1996. During this election season, Arkansas Governor Jim Guy Tucker was convicted for his role in the Whitewater scandal, which opened up the gubernatorial office. Huckabee decided to forgo running for the Arkansas Senate seat – in which he was leading in the polls – and was sworn in as Arkansas’ 44th governor.

Governor Mike Huckabee

At that time, Arkansas was a deeply blue state, and Huckabee was the first Republican governor in 25 years and only the third since the Reconstruction era. Yet despite serving in a blue state, Huckabee won reelection twice in 1998 and 2002.

Presidential Bids

After reaching his term limit as the governor of Arkansas, Huckabee announced his candidacy to be the Republican presidential nominee in 2008. His platform pushed for education reform and pro-life legislation. Because of his religious background, evangelicals rallied around Huckabee, and he had a surprising first-place win at the Iowa caucuses.

In 2016, Huckabee had another short-lived presidential campaign before bowing out and endorsing Republican candidate Donald Trump.

Post-Political Work

Huckabee remained a fixture among evangelicals with Huckabee on Fox News (2008–2015), the radio show The Huckabee Report (2008–2015), and the relaunched Huckabee show on the Trinity Broadcasting Network (2017–2025). He has also authored numerous bestsellers.

Support for Israel

Huckabee is unabashedly a Christian Zionist who has long called for Israel’s sovereignty because “the title deed was given by God to Abraham and to his heirs.” He has consistently rejected any calls for a two-state solution: “The so-called 2 State Solution is a stupid idea & is irrational & unworkable whether pushed by Dems or GOP unless the 2nd state is somewhere other than indigenous homeland of the Jewish people.” No one questions whom Huckabee supports in the Middle East conflict.

He also praised President Trump’s Abraham Accords, the historic peace treaty between Israel and the Arab nations of the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco. He argued that President Trump “didn’t get really the credit that he deserved, but to bring normalization between Israel and many of the Arab nations along the Gulf was huge.”

And Huckabee was a key figure in supporting Israel after Hamas’ murderous attacks on October 7, 2023. He described the senseless massacres as “horrific . . . beyond anything I’ve ever witnessed in my lifetime.”

The ACLJ also knows firsthand the atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7, as we met on Capitol Hill with leaders of Congress to represent several of the hostages’ families. We are especially thrilled that two hostages – ACLJ clients – were recently freed.

The ACLJ Supports Huckabee

ACLJ Executive Director Jordan Sekulow has appeared multiple times on Huckabee’s shows, so he knows Huckabee firsthand. Upon hearing of Huckabee’s nomination, Jordan posted: “I can’t say enough about how excited I am for the 🇺🇸 and 🇮🇱 to have @GovMikeHuckabee as US Ambassador to #Israel - thank you for accepting the nomination Governor, and for making the nomination @realDonaldTrump #Israel #Huckabee.”

A Steadfast Ally of Israel

Huckabee will improve relations between the United States and our greatest ally. The previous Administration’s support of Israel was tepid at best, yet we know with Huckabee’s nomination that the Trump Administration will strongly back Israel.

We look forward to seeing what Mike Huckabee accomplishes as the U.S. Ambassador to Israel. The ACLJ has a long history of defending Israel, and we know he will be a key figure alongside the ACLJ’s advocacy of Israel.