the Fair Tax, which would do away with all federal taxes and replace them with a single national sales tax. In March 2007, Huckabee signed the Presidential Taxpayer Protection Pledge of Americans for Tax Reform, promising not to increase taxes at the federal level. On April 3, 2007, Huckabee's campaign reported that it had raised only $500,000 in the first quarter of 2007, much less than rival candidates. The numbers prompted speculation in Arkansas that Huckabee might abandon the Presidential race for a U.S. Senate race against first-term Democrat Mark Pryor. Huckabee denied any plans to do this, and Huckabee campaign manager Chip Saltsman claimed that the campaign had actually surpassed its first quarter fund raising goal. On April 23, 2007, Huckabee finished second in a South Carolina straw poll conducted by the local Republican parties in Greenville, Spartanburg and Richland counties with 111 votes behind former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. That same day, Huckabee said that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is "creating a major distraction for the President and for the administration and for the Republican Party," and suggested that perhaps Gonzales should consider resigning due to the current controversy surrounding him. Huckabee participated in the May 3, 2007 Republican Presidential Debates along with the party's other nine declared candidates. Huckabee expressed support of a FairTax, a balanced budget with reduced spending, making the Bush administration's 2001 and 2003 tax cuts permanent, combating climate change, and comprehensive immigration reform. Political analyst and former Clinton and Huckabee adviser Dick Morris said Huckabee performed well, asserting that he was the "most original" candidate, especially with his explanation of the pro-life platform; and that his articulation was "novel and intriguing." Huckabee was one of three candidates in the debate who said that they do not believe in human evolution. Huckabee generated even better reviews from his performance in the May 15, 2007 Republican Presidential Debates. He received what was characterized by Esquire as "gales of laughter" as well as approval from the political press for his statement that "[w]e've had a Congress that's spent money like John Edwards at a beauty shop," a reference to the report of Edwards, a 2008 Democratic Presidential candidate, spending $800 of campaign money on two haircuts. Many supporters of the FairTax plan were also impressed by Huckabee's unfettered support of that proposed policy. The Huckabee campaign announced on Friday, June 8, that the former governor would