Mike Huckabee rallies for GOP to take Ky. House; event raises about $75K

In the south, the only state legislative chambers in Democrats’ control are the Kentucky House and the Arkansas House and Senate.

Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor and 2008 Republican presidential candidate, told Republican House candidates and their supporters Saturday at a fundraiser in Louisville that he believes that will change on Nov. 6.

Huckabee, now a Fox News personality, said because House Democratic leaders such as Speaker Greg Stumbo have voiced support for Democratic President Barack Obama that they are out-of-step with conservative Kentuckians.

Cathy Bailey, the former U.S. ambassador to Latvia, hosted the event at her Louisville home and said she expected the fundraiser to bring in $75,000 or $80,000.

Democrats control the state House with 58 seats compared to 41 Republicans, meaning the GOP would need a net gain of 10 seats to take control.

House GOP Leader Jeff Hoover told the more than 100 Republicans at the fundraising event that the election is particularly critical because the party that wins control will have the power to redraw the 100 House districts. Those districts must be redrawn to even out the populations before the 2014 election cycle.

Hoover said on Pure Politics in June that he expects the House Republican caucus to raise $750,000 this fall. In past elections, the caucus has struggled to raise six figures while House Democrats have typically built up a war chest of more than $1 million.

(To see the Pure Politics interview with Huckabee, watch tonight at 7 p.m. EST/6 p.m. Central on Insight’s cn|2 or on demand at Insight channel 103.)