U.S. Republican presidential candidate Huckabee wins Kansas caucuses

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Republican presidential candidate Huckabee won Kansas caucuses on Saturday.

With 88 percent of precincts reporting, the former Arkansas governor has won 60 percent of the votes, followed by Arizona Senator John McCain at 24 percent. Texas Congressman Ron Paul stayed at the third place at 11 percent.

The state has 36 delegates at stake who would vote at the Republican presidential nominee convention.

This is another victory of Huckabee, a Baptist master, after he led in the Republican primaries and caucuses in Iowa, Alabama, Arkansas, West Virginia, Georgia and Tennessee, supported by conservative evangelicals.

He was also expected to perform well in the Louisiana primary held on Saturday, where social conservative voters do not prefer McCain, a moderate conservative.

However, Huckabee so far has gained only 214 delegates who were supposed to vote for him at the nomination convention, exactly 500delegates less than McCain.

Earlier this week, the No. 2 Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney announced suspension of his campaign, virtually dropping out of the race and consolidating McCain's status as the sole forerunner for the presidential candidacy.

But, Huckabee insisted staying in the campaign, looking for a "miracle."

"Well I didn't major in math, I majored in miracles," he told a Saturday speech, "And I still believe in those, too."

He also said that the 250,000 U.S. dollars his campaign has raised on-line in 24 hours was a sign of the health of his presidential effort.

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