Fred Thompson who is a former presidential candidate denied charges Friday by Mike Huckabee that he was encouraged to stay in the 2008 race to help in splitting the vote for Sen. John McCain.

Thompson told Fox News that there’s not one bit of truth to it.

Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor and a Fox News host,a day earlier was claiming that ahead of the 2008 Republican South Carolina primary, McCain had “certainly encouraged” Thompson to continue in the race. At the time, Huckabee had just won the Iowa caucuses and McCain had won the New Hampshire primary — a win in South Carolina, which McCain ultimately was victorious, was considered vital to his campaign.

Huckabee is claiming he has been told that McCain encouraged Thompson to stay in the race and that, in turn, Thompson soaked up some of the votes that would have gone toward the Huckabee campaign.

Huckabee said many people in the McCain camp have since confirmed that he asked Thompson to please stay in, he needed him in South Carolina, primarily in the upstate where Huckabee had his strength.  He added that’s politics, that’s what happens. It was an honest, a good, a straightforward political move on McCain’s part. He had to congratulate McCain for it, but it was very painful at the time.”

Huckabee stated that he does not “blame” either of the 2 candidates for the alleged political play.

However, both McCain and Thompson deny it adamantly.

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