Mike Huckabee is an ordained minister, and 9 other things you should know about the 2016 hopeful

By ISABELLE CHAPMAN

Former governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee announced on May 5 that he would join the fray and seek the Republican nomination for the President of the United States. In his hometown of Hope, Arkansas, Huckabee declared that because he was raised to believe that "where a person started didn't mean that's where he had to stop ... so it seems perfectly fitting that it would be here that I announce that I am a candidate for President of the United States of America."

Huckabee is widely known from his 2008 presidential run and his presence in conservative media -- he has hosted a talk show on Fox News, and acted as a political commentator on radio program "The Huckabee Report." In 2008, Huckabee captured the hearts of many conservatives and managed to win eight states during the Republican primaries, though he eventually lost the nomination to Mitt Romney.

The Arkansas native enters the race for 2016 down in the polls behind several powerhouse contenders -- Bush leads the crowded field at 15.5 percent, closely trailed by Marco Rubio at 14.3 percent. Huckabee is squarely in the middle of the pack with 7.5 percent of Republicans or right-leaning Republicans saying they would back him.

Huckabee began his political career as lieutenant governor of Arkansas in 1993, before he became governor of Arkansas in 1996 after the incumbent Democratic governor was convicted of fraud and was forced to resign. He remained in office until 2007, and in 2008 made his first presidential run.

The charismatic former minister has often been picked apart by Democrats and moderate Republicans alike for his fundamentalist views and his sensationalist media strategy. But he has appealed to the masses before with his folksy likability and old school charm.

Click through above to find out more about the presidential hopeful.

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