HOPE, Ark. -- Finding evidence of Hope's two most well-known exports -- Bill Clinton and watermelons -- is hardly a challenge. But reminders of Mike Huckabee, the presidential hopeful billed as the other man from Hope, are less abundant in this small southwestern Arkansas town.

Signs on the interstate welcome visitors to the birthplace of Clinton and point tourists to the former president's first home. Paintings of watermelons appear through the town, even on the windows of abandoned storefronts.

There are few clues that this town also created Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor now contending for the Republican presidential nod. It was only a month or so ago that the town's museum added exhibits chronicling Huckabee's upbringing and ties to the town, and even that is dwarfed by the Clinton artifacts.

"I don't know what we would do if Huckabee won. We don't have any more room," said Gary Johnson, director of the town's visitor center and museum.

That may not be a problem the town of 10,500 will have to face. Huckabee won the Iowa caucus but hasn't won since. He is struggling financially and may be more likely to make the GOP ticket as a running mate. A vice president from Hope doesn't sound as exciting for the town that has been linked to the White House ever since Clinton ended his speech at the 1992 Democratic National Convention with the words, "I still believe in a place called Hope."

The city may still get a chance in the spotlight, with Hillary Rodham Clinton also seeking the presidential nomination. Though not an Arkansas native, the former U.S. first lady has tried to highlight her ties to the state where she served as first lady for 12 years.

Hope has already capitalized on its ties to Bill Clinton, who was born in Hope and grew up in Hot Springs. It transformed an abandoned train depot into a museum on the town's history, with nearly all the exhibits Clinton-related. Clinton's birthplace home was transformed into a museum that city leaders have tried to promote as a sidetrip to the Clinton presidential library in Little Rock.

Hope leaders say they haven't seen the same interest yet in Huckabee, who turned from an underdog in the White House race last year to a serious contender after a victory in the Iowa caucus. Aside from reporters visiting the town for background and biographical details, there have been few people traveling to the city to visit Huckabee landmarks.

Even though the town is tightly connected to an icon from the Democratic party, Huckabee frequently talks about his experience growing up in Hope and joking about his and Clinton's experiences there.

"I'm from Hope, Arkansas. You may have heard of it. All I'm asking is, give us one more chance," he's told audiences before.

Like Clinton, Huckabee even played off the title of his hometown for a campaign book, "From Hope to Higher Ground," which began with Huckabee's memories of growing up there.

"It was the kind of place where I could misbehave eight blocks from home, but by the time I pedaled back to 509 East Second Street, six people would have called my parents to report my behavior," he wrote.

The town's love affair with Huckabee has been a mixed one. Shortly before he left office, a lake in the town was named after the former governor and his wife, Janet. But in 2003, as the then-governor toured the state to tout an education plan that included consolidation of some rural school districts, a group in Hope declined to be included.

Huckabee said he was disappointed by the move, "a decision that appears to be driven by local politics."

Politically, Huckabee's hometown has offered mixed payoffs. While Hempstead County supported Huckabee's 1998 re-election bid as governor and voted for its native son as lieutenant governor in 1994, the county chose Democrat Jimmie Lou Fisher over Huckabee in the 2002 gubernatorial campaign.

Huckabee's hometown also didn't show him much love in his first political campaign, choosing incumbent Democratic Sen. Dale Bumpers over the young Southern Baptist preacher in 1992.

Despite the lukewarm reception from his hometown, Huckabee's success in the race brings out hope, if not a little confusion, from locals over the town's political fortunes.

"It hasn't been a great place for people to migrate to, so I guess this is what we're known for sending out of here. Other than raising watermelons, I guess we also raise politicians," Harvey Fullerton, a retired police officer, said on a recent morning as he sipped coffee at an Andy's Restaurant near Hope's downtown.

"I don't think it's the water or anything," piped in Claude Fitzgerald, an 89-year-old retired farmer who's lived in Hope since 1974.

Residents who witnessed the town's excitement during Clinton's run in 1992 say the feeling just isn't the same with Huckabee running.

"I'm thrilled about it, but it's kind of becoming old hat to us," said Jan Fontaine, who owns a barber shop in Hope.

The election has been of particular concern for Hope, which has struggled financially in recent years and saw one of its largest employers -- Champion Parts -- lay off 215 workers last year.

"It's pretty slim right now. Everybody's struggling to get by," said David Hartsfield, who owns a pest-control company and has lived in Hope for 30 years.

"I usually vote either side of the fence, but after the president we've got now I've said I'll vote Democrat for a long time. But now if Huckabee got the nomination I probably could vote for Huckabee," Hartsfield said. "If it comes down to Hillary and Huckabee, I think I'd vote for Huckabee."

For those who knew Huckabee personally, the choice isn't as clear. Mary Nell Turner, who taught Huckabee high school journalism, said she's a lifelong Democrat and unlikely to support her former student's presidential campaign.

Turner, 88, has had personal connections to both of the Hope natives with presidential ambitions. She said she remembers as a teenager seeing Clinton's grandfather deliver ice to her family's home.

"It shows the American dream can come from a small place like Hope, I guess. It does say something, doesn't it?" Turner said.