Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee was in Pella this weekend ahead of the Iowa Caucus.

The Republican presidential candidate spoke to a crowd at Pella Christian High School Saturday afternoon. Huckabee tells KNIA/KRLS News he’s optimistic he can still win Iowa as he did in 2008. He says the state is the center of the political world for the next four weeks, and serves as a potential launching pad for candidates.

“This is their choice, it is not the choice of somebody sitting in New York or Washington, it’s the choice of the people sitting in Iowa, and they have a chance to shake up the whole process” Huckabee says.

Dr. Ben Carson will be the next presidential candidate in Marion County, with a town hall planned on Wednesday from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the Graham Conference Center at Central College.

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