Monday, we went to the convention center, where the debate was to be held that night, and spent the time talking with campaign staff and South Carolina elected officials before the big night. We ran into several of our great ONE Vote 2012 ambassadors, including Representative Joe Wilson, who is always so helpful and kind to ONE members here. We also spoke to Senator Lindsey Graham who was fresh off his congressional delegation trip to Africa. We had a great time being a part of the political process at the debate.

Then on Tuesday, ONE was able to be a part of an event with the US Global Leadership Coalition, where ONE Vote 2012 Co-chair Governor Mike Huckabee was the featured speaker. We also had a chance to speak to Speaker Newt Gingrich who addressed the crowd for a few minutes. Governor Huckabee spoke on the importance of smart investments in foreign assistance programs and all of the benefits that it brings to American security and the economy. We have a great voice in Governor Huckabee as a passionate advocate for these programs who has seen American programs working on the ground in Africa.

We have been having a great week here in South Carolina making sure the candidates know how important these issues are and that Americans care about them. More updates from the trail soon!

-Charlie Harris, South Carolina field organizer, ONE Vote 2012. Follow him on Twitter at @Charlie_at_ONE

You can watch the interview in 2 parts here:

There were more than 200 people in line, moms, dads, students and grandparents all waiting to talk with the Governor, but I was excited to be there to talk with him about ONE and the world’s poorest people. When I finally got to meet him I told him I was a ONE volunteer and thanked him for always making time for ONE – especially on the campaign trail and on the trip he took to Rwanda to see first hand where US efforts are helping to save millions of lives. I gave him a few articles written by ONE Fellow Michael Gerson, he said he had already received it earlier in the day, he thanked me for the articles, and all that ONE does.

-Juliann Vanliew, ONE member

Last Sunday, Governor Mike Huckabee came to Des Moines, Iowa, to help raise money for a local church. During the event, Iowa State Central Committeeman Wes Enos, who recently spoke about ONE with Gov. Bobby Jindal, had the opportunity to catch up with longtime friend of ONE, Gov. Huckabee.

Mr. Enos thanked Gov. Huckabee for his support for the world’s poorest people, and presented him a copy of “The Lazarus Effect,” a documentary from our sister organization (RED), which details the live-saving efforts of the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Malaria and TB.

Gov. Huckabee told Mr. Enos that he is always happy to talk with ONE members, and that he was encouraged to know that people from all walks of life are working together with ONE to help fight hunger and disease for the world’s poorest people.

(As I said previously, I didn’t have a tripod of any kind, so if shaky camera movement gives you a headache, you may just want to listen to the footage for now until we have the professional video done and up in the next few days.)

First, Gov. Huckabee talks about ONE:

Next, Gov. Huckabee introduces this clip, a video made especially for the RNCC about Senator Frist, Michael Gerson and Gov. Huckabee in Rwanda:

And then back to the governor:

Below, a short video clip from Mike Huckabee talking about the role of faith in the fight against global poverty.

The trip will be led by former U.S. Senate Majority Leaders Tom Daschle and Bill Frist – the two men who, for the past year, have co-chaired our ONE Vote ’08 effort. They’ll be joined by people like John Podesta (who was Chief of Staff to President Clinton and heads the Center for American Progress), Mike Huckabee (former Governor of Arkansas who expressed support for the ONE platform when he was running for the GOP nomination), and John Kasich (former member of the House of Representatives who worked as House Budget Committee Chairman). Cindy McCain will join the bipartisan trip as well. Mrs. McCain has a solid history of work in the fight against extreme poverty and preventable global disease. She’s served on the Board of Directors to ONE-partner CARE International since 2005. She founded the American Voluntary Medical Team in 1988, organizing trips for medical personnel to provide emergency care to disaster-struck or war-torn regions. She also serves on the boards for the non-profits Operation Smile and the HALO Trust.

The American people have made an incredible difference in the lives of millions of people struggling to survive extreme, brutal poverty. Our next president has the opportunity to finish the job – to finally erase preventable diseases from the planet and eliminate the kind of suffocating poverty which claims thousands of lives a day. We know the way, but we need our next president to show the will. That’s why we’re bringing this group of people to Rwanda. Each of them is in a unique position to help shape the policies and priorities of the man who could be our next president, and we want the fight against extreme poverty and preventable diseases to be front and center.

In Rwanda, we’ll visit places where PEPFAR is providing funds to save lives at risk from HIV/AIDS. We’ll stop at a school to hear from the students about the importance of their education to break free from extreme poverty. We’ll hear from farmers about their efforts to grow more crops and address the food crisis by growing their way out of it. All told, it will be an eye-opening trip, and one that we hope pays off with stronger policy commitments to the issues we care so much about – ending poverty and disease — from the two leading presidential candidates.

We’ll send updates from the trip and let you know how things are going.

-David Lane

It is a hot one here in New Hampshire today as political leaders travel to the NH Sec. of State’s Office to file papers to run for political seats, very similar to what all of the presidential candidates did last year – except there is no snow today.

I went to catch up with former candidate, Gov. Mike Huckabee, but when I arrived in Concord, I ran into NH Senator John E. Sununu. He recognized me and my ONE pin and I was able to thank him for his leadership in the Senate in funding Millennium Challenge Account and his support for the global AIDS bill known as PEPFAR, which is still waiting to be passed in the Senate. He thanked me and all ONE member for the work that we are doing to promote life saving US efforts in Africa.

I then met Gov. Huckabee outside of the State House. He too was excited about ONE and we talked about his tape for On The Record as well as the importance of passing PEPFAR. We discussed how fighting AIDS and poverty in Africa is not an issue that divides Republicans or Democrats, but rather unites Americans in our common humanity.

And as I got ready to leave, I ran into NH Rep. Carol Shea-Porter. She too was very aware of ONE and when I thanked her for voting for PEPFAR’s historic bi-partisan passage in the House, she told me how proud she was to vote for it and went on to talk with me about the recent vote for new funds to fight the world hunger crisis.

The 2008 NH Primary is over, but ONE’s impression and influence goes on as we make sure that our leaders are doing all that is possible to fight AIDS, malaria, and hunger and help save lives in the most desperate countries on Earth.

-Matthew Bartlett

In the week leading up to this past Tuesday’s Texas primary, ONE members in Waco realized they had a unique opportunity to help in the fight against extreme poverty and the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

More than 30 volunteers came out throughout the week attending events for Governor Huckabee, and Senators Clinton and McCain. Armed with ONE T-shirts, homemade signs, and their passion for ONE’s issues – volunteers and made sure that the candidates from both parties knew that Texans want our next president to be a leader in fighting for the world’s poorest people.

On Thursday, February 28th volunteers attended the Mike Huckabee rally in Waco, Texas, where they were able to meet the governor. After talking to the candidate about fighting poverty around the world, the volunteers were also excited that they were able to meet Huckabee supporter Chuck Norris at the rally.

The next day more ONE volunteers came out for Senator Clinton’s rally where they had seats right in front so that the senator could see them with their ONE shirts and poverty-fighting signs.

Then on Monday, March 3rd, Senator McCain was in Waco for a town hall and again, ONE was there! Justin Kralemann, president of the Baylor University ONE Student group, attended and sent me this note:

We just got in from the McCain Town Hall, during his speech, the senator asked everyone in the meeting to look at me and my fellow ONE members who were present. He talked about ONE and how young Americans are working together for a great cause. All of the cameras turned to us in our ONE tee-shirts. When he opened it up for questions, he asked me to take 60 seconds to tell everyone what ONE was. I then thanked him on behalf of over 100,000 ONE members in Texas for going “On the Record” and if elected, to visit Africa in his first term.

Thanks to all the volunteers in Waco who came out to support ONE and the world’s poorest people. For the ONE supporters out there in Wyoming, Mississippi, and Pennsylvania, as your primaries near, keep an eye out for candidates coming to your city, because we also need you to hit the campaign trail as ONE!

-Kim Smith

After you check out the candidates’ responses, take a few minutes and write a letter to the editor of your local paper. Writing a letter to the editor is your chance to talk about the poverty-fighting successes highlighted on the recent presidential trip to Africa – successes ONE members have helped make possible – and our campaign urging the next president to visit Africa in his or her first term.

-Aaron Banks