A National Review writer spends time in Iowa with Mike Huckabee, not exactly ready to concede defeat of his presidential campaign, but not exactly projecting optimism either.

This much is clear: He does NOT like Ted Cruz and his resentment of him is expressed at length. The tone of the piece is somber.

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The man who eight years ago won the most votes in the history of Iowa’s Republican caucuses now finds himself polling ninth in the state, according to the RealClearPolitics average, at 2.6 percent. (June was the last time any poll showed him reaching double-digits.) He trails a host of first-time candidates, including several, such as Chris Christie and John Kasich, who hardly spend any time here. Huckabee, meanwhile, 60 years old and visibly heavier after slimming down for his 2008 campaign, has nonetheless hustled to all 99 Iowa counties. But his hard work is not being rewarded. As Donald Trump and Ted Cruz draw colossal crowds and earn wall-to-wall coverage of their battle for Iowa, Huckabee hobbles through the state in relative obscurity, away from his wife, his grandchildren, and the beachfront home he always dreamed of, eating a dry salmon salad on a 10-degree day in Des Moines.

The piece suggests the cause is lost and repeats talk that Huckabee may yet pull out before the Iowa caucuses rather than face an embarrassing 7th place finish. Huckabee says no. He’s in it to the finish

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