US election 2016: Republican Mike Huckabee releases 'announcement' video vowing to 'fight' in 2016

Republican Mike Huckabee is not announcing his official presidential bid until 5 May, but the former Arkansas governor has already released a video highlighting the issues he will be running on.

The video, which runs just over two minutes and is entitled Nailed Shut, discusses his career as governor and the struggles he faced as a Republican in "Bill Clinton's Arkansas." According to Huckabee, he plans to "help every American earn maximum wage; protect social security and medicare; to lead with moral clarity; and to defeat the evil forces of radical Islam".

But the video is much more than establishing the issues Huckabee plans to run on. In just the first 12 seconds, viewers see images of the Clinton's before and after Huckabee assumes office. As the Washington Post reported, Huckabee intends to show voters that he beat the Clintons once and he can do it again.

However, it should be noted that Huckabee never campaigned against Clinton in Arkansas. As lieutenant governor, he assumed the governor's office in 1996 when then Governor Jim Guy Tucker resigned.

In the video, Huckabee attempts to demonstrate his "average" guy image and populist values. "I'm not a Republican because I grew up rich, I'm a Republican because I didn't want to spend the rest of my life poor, waiting for the government to rescue me," the 59-year-old explains.

He adds, "As governor of Arkansas, I cut taxes and welfare, balanced the budget every year for 10 years, and raised average family income by 50%. We didn't slash, burn, hurt people, leave people impoverished. We empowered people to live a better life."

According to the Los Angeles Times, the video's old images of Huckabee and the Clinton's, also show that he has been out of office for quite some time. He will be competing against fellow Republicans, such as Florida Senator Marco Rubio, that are not only younger, but are currently in office.

The former governor has also never worked in Washington before, something he plans on highlighting during his campaign. "One thing that has to happen in America is moving the power away from Washington where people are so disconnected from the way Americans live," he says. "It's a disaster."

He later adds, "Washington has done enough lying and stealing."

Huckabee will be entering an already busy GOP field that includes Rubio, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul and Texas Senator Ted Cruz. In a recent Quinnipiac University poll, Huckabee earned 7% of likely Republican voters, over Rubio's 15%, Paul's 8% and Cruz's 9%.