Mike Huckabee

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee used a portion of his speech to discuss money in politics, specifically how the influence of the "uber-wealthy” could “change forever the Iowa caucus.”

"If presidential candidates can go to New York, Florida, Texas and California, raise big bucks from the tiniest segment of our population, the uber-wealthy, and buy TV, radio, newspaper and billboard space … they'll never have to listen to" regular Iowans or Americans again, he said.

Huckabee said candidates will never meet the guy he talked with who earns about $59,000 a year but has to spend about $28,000 this year paying for health care costs. Or a woman who says her children face losing government benefits if she works as much as she's capable of.

"If you really want to evaluate a candidate, follow the money," he said. "Only about three of us aren't wholly-owned subsidiaries of Wall Street billionaire hedge-fund guys."

Asked what candidates are without big-money backing, Huckabee said himself, "most of my support has come from working class people"; former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, "who is not corporately financed"; and Donald Trump, the New York billionaire.