It’s not just Huckabee’s style or political positions that would do this. It’s the relationship of trust and love he’s built with evangelicals and connections to evangelicals across the country. He is beloved. He can motivate.

And Romney needs this.

A poll released Tuesday by the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling shows President Obama pulling ahead in Virginia and North Carolina, two key Southern swing states: Obama has opened up a substantial 8-point lead (50 percent to 42 percent) in Virginia and is leading 47-46 in North Carolina.

In fact, as PBS reports, “The majority of the states with large evangelical populations are safely held Republican territory. But a few — Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Michigan and Ohio — are predicted to be closely contested battleground states this fall. North Carolina and Virginia have the largest percentage of evangelical voters, but each of the other states has an evangelical population over 25 percent. If Romney can mobilize this group in November, it could mean the difference in a close election.”