January 2008 when, having previously agreed to try to work with unions if elected, he then crossed a WGA Writer's Strike picket line in order to appear on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Relationship with McCain campaign In most of the primaries, the conservative votes had been split between Huckabee and Romney while Romney was in the race. Due to Huckabee's third-place standing in the delegate count and his refusal to concede, some prominent conservative pundits had charged that "a vote for Huckabee equals a vote for McCain", and that Huckabee's actions hinted to a possible bid to a vice presidency or cabinet position for Huckabee in McCain's administration, should McCain win the Presidency. McCain and Huckabee have had a cordial relationship during the campaign, which has been questioned by those who see Huckabee campaigning from a strong social conservative platform while McCain is seen by many as socially moderate or liberal. On Super Tuesday in West Virginia, McCain supporters threw their support to Huckabee, which resulted in a highly publicized Huckabee win early on Tuesday. Romney had been leading there in the polls prior to the primary. This strategy likely both increased the number of votes given to Huckabee and reduced the number that went to Romney of those voting Tuesday evening. The strategy appears to have been successful as Romney suspended his campaign two days later after a poor showing in Super Tuesday. Although the Romney campaign initially criticized the deal between McCain and Huckabee, Romney later threw his support behind McCain after dropping out of the race, stating that "This is a man capable of leading our country at a dangerous hour." Lincoln-Douglas debate On September 7, Huckabee sent an open letter to Fred Thompson inviting him to participate in a Lincoln-Douglas style debate. "I share your view of the debates and agree that Newt's 'Nine Nineties in Nine' concept is a far better way to make sure America's next President has the character and capacity to lead our nation forward, and that's why I have already signed that pledge," Huckabee wrote in his letter. "I agree that what is needed is a real discussion by the candidates about their vision for the future of our country." He suggested that the first debate be held in New Hampshire. Huckabee posted the letter on his campaign site and invited American voters to co-sign it as an appeal