Mike Huckabee is joining the 2016 GOP presidential field today

Fox News host Mike Huckabee defended Rep. Todd Akin and his views Aug. 20 saying that "horrible rapes" had created some "extraordinary" people.
(Image credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

In what's being billed as "the worst kept secret" in Arkansas, former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) is officially joining the 2016 presidential race on Tuesday, becoming the sixth Republican in an increasingly crowded field. Huckabee will make his announcement at 11 a.m. (EDT) in Hope, Arkansas, the hometown he famously shares with former President Bill Clinton.

Huckabee is expected to gear his second presidential campaign toward working class social conservatives and claim that he is best positioned to fight the "Clinton Machine," having apparently faced it before when he was governor after Bill Clinton. Republicans are expecting to face Hillary Rodham Clinton as their Democratic opponent in the general election.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.