Mike Huckabee announces presidential campaign

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) on Tuesday announced he is running for president.

"As president I promise you will get what you paid for," Huckabee said at a kickoff event in his hometown of Hope, Arkansas.

In a speech spotlighting his Christian faith, Huckabee took some veiled swipes at Democrats and his rivals for the GOP nomination. He also positioned himself as the strongest candidate on national security, vowing that "hell will freeze over" before Iran acquires a nuclear weapon.

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"I promise you that as president, we will no longer try to contain jihadism, we will conquer it," he said.

Huckabee ran for president in 2008, earning a surprise win in the Iowa caucus and for a time threatening to upset more established competitors in Mitt Romney and eventual nominee Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) He considered running again in 2012, but ultimately avoided the race.