Huckabee wins Republican contest in Kansas

By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee easily won the Republican presidential contest in Kansas on Saturday, showing signs of life in a nominating race front-runner John McCain has nearly sewed up.

Huckabee captured about 60 percent of the vote in Kansas, one of three states holding Republican contests on Saturday. Nebraska and Washington also vote in the Republican race to choose a candidate in November's presidential election.

Final results in the other two states, and in three Democratic presidential contests scheduled on Saturday, are expected after 9 p.m. EST/0200 GMT. The Democratic Party's race is much tighter, with Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and New York Sen. Hillary Clinton nearly tied in the delegate count in the fight for the party's nomination.

Huckabee vowed during a morning appearance at a conference of conservative activists to continue his shoestring presidential campaign, which has made inroads with social and religious conservatives.

"Am I quitting? Let's get that settled right now. No, I'm not," Huckabee said to cheers at the conference in a Washington hotel.

McCain, an Arizona senator, appears almost certain to win the nomination after his chief rival, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, dropped out on Thursday. Huckabee is now his only major opponent and is running a distant second. Texas Rep. Ron Paul also remains in the race.

McCain has rolled up more than 700 of the 1,191 delegates needed to win the Republican nomination at this summer's nominating convention.

But McCain still faces widespread opposition from conservatives unhappy with his views on immigration, tax cuts and other issues. Huckabee said he would continue his campaign at least until McCain clinched the nomination.