Feb. 8 (Bloomberg) -- John McCain, in position to become the Republican presidential nominee, should choose someone like South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford as his running mate rather than former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, conservative leader David Keene said.

Huckabee, who is still competing for the nomination, would aggravate conservatives' doubts about Arizona Senator McCain, said Keene, who is chairing the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.

``Mike Huckabee increases rather than diminishes the problems'' because of differences with conservatives over taxes and immigration, Keene said in an interview on Bloomberg Television's ``Political Capital with Al Hunt,'' scheduled to air today. Sanford, a tax-cutter and champion of school vouchers and similar social initiatives, satisfies ``all of the factions of the movement,'' Keene said.

McCain, 71, who shunned CPAC's gathering of almost 7,000 activists, students and policy makers in Washington last year, showed up yesterday to ask for their support. CPAC includes more than 90 conservative organizations that the Republican nominee will need to turn out voters in the November elections.

McCain voted against President George W. Bush's tax cuts, supported a legal path to citizenship for illegal immigrants and sponsored campaign-finance overhaul that hampered conservatives' ability to raise money.

Broad Spectrum

``McCain's problems are sort of over the broad spectrum of conservative belief, and if you take issues, two of the areas that he's been most criticized for are his tax positions and his immigration positions,'' Keene said.

``Two of the things that conservatives who haven't gone with Mike Huckabee have criticized have been his immigration and tax positions,'' Keene said. ``So in a sense, you double the problem; you don't solve the problem. He needs somebody that solves his problems or is sort of universally acceptable to conservatives.''

If McCain's ``problem was with evangelical conservatives alone, Mike Huckabee would obviously be a solution,'' Keene said.

By contrast, Sanford would enjoy near-unanimous support from conservatives, said Keene, who is chairman of the Alexandria, Virginia-based American Conservative Union, a grassroots lobbying organization.

McCain's decision to favor making Bush's tax cuts permanent has assuaged some conservatives, said Keene. ``I think his positions are okay.''

Judicial Nominees

On the hot-button issue of picking Supreme Court justices sympathetic to conservatives' priorities, Keene said he is ``not quite as confident'' that McCain's choices would be as conservative as those picked by Bush and President Ronald Reagan.

``You really can't tell what some of these judges are going to do,'' Keene said. ``If he got three appointments and we got two out of three, that would be better than you can expect in a good season.''

Keene said McCain's choice of a running mate with undisputed conservative bona fides ``could indeed be crucial.''

Sanford, 47, served six years in the House of Representatives and as governor pushed through property and small-business tax cuts. He would be ``one of the obvious'' candidates, Keene said.

McCain is ``going to have to find someone that pleases the base'' because ``a lot of conservatives think he wants to change the makeup of the party and the direction of the party,'' Keene said. ``And if he's got a vice president who they're very comfortable with, then they might be willing to say, well, fine, you get your four years or your eight years, but we've got a shot.''

Following Romney

McCain addressed CPAC yesterday afternoon after former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney addressed the group and announced the suspension of his presidential campaign.

Keene said McCain ``did pretty well'' in extending an olive branch to conservatives. Still, some of the four-term senator's differences with conservatives go beyond substance, Keene said.

``He's got to not just sort of placate among issues because in many cases, the problems he has with the right are not as much issues-based as they're based on a sense that conservatives have that John McCain doesn't like them, hasn't liked them, and would like them to go somewhere else.''

Keene added: ``He took a first step toward that in his speech, but he's got a ways to go.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Edwin Chen in Washington at EChen32@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: February 8, 2008 15:39 EST