Mike Huckabee Will Raise Money with 'Willie Horton' Ad Producer
Former Governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee speaks to guests at the Iowa Freedom Summit on January 24, 2015 in Des Moines, Iowa.
Photo by Scott Olson/Getty ImagesOn May 14, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee will head to Phoenix to raise money for his 2016 presidential bid. The visit, which was announced by Huckabee's campaign today, will be co-hosted by political strategist Floyd Brown, the producer of the 1988 "Willie Horton ad" that Republicans have spent decades distancing themselves from.
The infamous ad, which was credited to the short-lived "Americans for Bush," attacked Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis for supporting weekend prison passes for criminals in Massachusetts. Horton was out on weekend furlough from a life prison sentence when he assaulted and raped a woman, as the ad recounted in stark, lo-fi terms.