Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee says he will not abandon his bid for the Republican Party's presidential nomination.
Huckabee made the comment while speaking Saturday in Washington, D.C. to a conference of conservative activists. Declaring "I am not" quitting, he promised the audience he will stay in the race, despite trailing far behind Arizona Senator John McCain in the number of delegate votes needed to secure the nomination.
McCain is the clear frontrunner for his party's nomination after his major rival, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, suspended his own campaign on Thursday.
McCain and Huckabee face each other and Texas Congressman Ron Paul in Saturday's Republican Party contests in Kansas, Louisiana and Washington state.
Democratic Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, in a tight race for their party's nomination, are both hoping to score decisive victories in four contests Saturday - Louisiana, Nebraska, Washington state and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Both candidates say they are ready to take on likely Republican nominee McCain in the general election in November.
In recent campaigning, McCain has tried to rally conservative voters who say his views are too centrist.
McCain already has gained more than half of the 1,191 convention delegates needed to win the Republican nomination.
2,025 delegates are required to win the Democratic presidential nomination.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.