The rise of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in the Republican presidential race could elevate Sen. John Thune's role in the campaigning for GOP front-runner John McCain.

Thune, R-S.D., is also being mentioned - so far, casually - as a potential running mate for McCain if the Arizona senator wins his party's nomination.

Thune demurs on the vice-president question, saying he hasn't discussed it with McCain. But their close relationship and Thune's standing with Christian conservatives make him a useful campaign surrogate with potential as a running mate, observers say.

Pamela Carriveau, a professor of political science at Black Hills State University in Spearfish, said Thune might make an appealing option.

"He's young. He's good-looking. He's approachable. He doesn't have anything embarrassing out there," Carriveau said. "He had a big win over (former Senate Democratic leader Tom) Daschle. And he's certainly going to play well with the Christian conservatives."

Thune, who beat Daschle in a 2004 campaign, already has taken his personal appeal and red-state, conservative Christian credentials on the road for McCain in Iowa, Michigan and South Carolina. He expects to do more of the same as the campaign moves on to a string of states - including Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Virginia - where Thune's Midwestern roots, conservative reputation and strong Christian connections are considered helpful to McCain.

"A lot of these areas are pretty similar to South Dakota in the way you campaign," Thune said. "People like to see you. They like to talk issues with you. Sometimes, you just sit and answer questions."

Those questions include concerns about McCain's initial opposition to the Bush tax cuts and an immigration stand that some called "progressive" and others considered a sell-out of U.S. interests. McCain, who once labeled the Rev. Jerry Falwell as one of the "peddlers of intolerance," also has some fences to mend with the Christian right.

That could be especially important in light of the Super Tuesday surge of

Huckabee, a former Baptist minister who revitalized his presidential campaign with a wins in Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, West Virginia and his home state of Arkansas.

Huckabee is still behind former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in the delegate count, where McCain has a commanding lead. But Huckabee's showing Tuesday bolstered his standing and emphasized the value of the Christian conservative vote that McCain - with his maverick style and moderate tendencies on some issues - has tended to alienate.

And some of McCain's delegate strength in the primary so far has come from states likely to be carried by a Democrat in the general election. So he has work to do both in the primary and, presuming he gets the Republican nomination, in preparation for winning some of those Bible-Belt states next fall.

That won't be easy. McCain has been the target of a public blitz by noted political conservatives, including AM talk-radio hosts Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Laura Schlessinger and others. Thune said he has dealt with those attacks in previous campaign stops for McCain.

"You've got Rush, you've got Laura, you've got Hannity, and they're just hammering away," Thune said. "And people listen to that stuff out there, and it matters to them. They listen to those folks."

Without attacking McCain's well-known critics, Thune touts the senator's conservative credentials and leadership strengths in fiscal accountability, national defense and homeland security, as well as his consistent opposition to abortion. Conservative critics overlook those qualities in their zeal to tear up McCain, Thune said.

"They haven't seen how fiercely he fights against wasteful Washington spending," he said. "They haven't seen how good he is with our troops. Our troops love this guy."

Thune and McCain have grown close through their work on the Senate Committee on Armed Services. They've made trips to Iran, Iraq and other Middle East countries. And in their time together, they discovered military connections between Thune's father, Harold, a Navy fighter pilot in World War II, and McCain's grandfather, Jack.

Admiral Jack McCain commanded Harold Thune's carrier group and signed the paperwork for Harold Thune's commendations for valor, including the Distinguished Flying Cross. In addition, Harold Thune flew off the carrier Intrepid, the same ship McCain flew off of during the Vietnam War before he was shot down over Hanoi and taken prisoner in 1967.

Their increasingly close relationship - plus Thune's youth, popularity in the national Republican Party and standing with conservative Christians - make him both a useful campaigner for McCain and a senator who is mentioned among those considered a possible vice-president selection.

Thune said he "likes the job I have," isn't coveting the vice president's spot and hasn't discussed it with McCain.

"It's never really been something we've talked about," he said. "Plus, whoever the nominee is, it always makes sense to get somebody from a state that's going to be competitive."

In heavily Republican South Dakota, it's almost a foregone conclusion that the Republican candidate will win. In addition, South Dakota's three electoral votes hardly make it a power broker.

Huckabee would likely be at the top of the list for McCain running mates if his campaign falters and he is interested in the No. 2 spot, Carriveau said. And people from larger states with more electoral votes to deliver would likely have great appeal, she said.

But there are intangibles to consider as well. When George Bush picked Dick Cheney, a former congressman from Wyoming, as his running mate he wasn't hunting for home-state electoral votes, Carriveau said.

"Bush decided to choose someone he trusted and knew he could work closely with," she said. "Thune could be that same kind of person for John McCain."

The McCain campaign had scheduled Thune to visit Montana and North Dakota on Monday, before Republican contests in those states on Super Tuesday. But he turned down the mission because of a pending Senate vote and limited mobility after arthroscopic knee surgery last Saturday in Sioux Falls.

Thune did take some calls from reporters in North Dakota on McCain's behalf.

And said he expects to hit the campaign trail for McCain again, when needed and as his Senate schedule allows.

"They dispatch me to places where they think I can help," Thune said. "I'll go when I can."

Contact Kevin Woster at 394-8413 or kevin.woster@rapidcityjournal.com