Former Arkansas governor and 2008 Iowa Caucus winner Mike Huckabee will return to the Hawkeye State June 10 to officially endorse and stump for likely GOP gubernatorial hopeful Bob Vander Plaats.

Called “An Evening of Politics In The Park,” the event will begin at 4:30 p.m. and the program will start at 5 p.m. at Arnolds Park, 243 W. Broadway St., Spirit Lake. Tickets for the event cost $100.

In a release, Huckabee said, “I’ve called Bob Vander Plaats ‘the next governor of Iowa’ on many occasions and I’ve done it deliberately and with good reason.”

This marks the first high-profile endorsement of the 2010 GOP primary, although Huckabee’s announcement comes as no surprise. Vander Plaats served as state chair for his caucus campaign and recently appeared on Huckabee’s Fox News program to discuss same-sex marriage.

Sioux City Journal political reporter Bret Hayworth wonders if the event will also serve as Vander Plaats’ “official” campaign kick-off. Vander Plaats has been unofficially running for governor since January, when he announced his intentions on WHO-AM’s Jan Mickelson.

The trip also marks Huckabee’s second visit to Iowa since November’s election, rekindling rumors he is interested in a second presidential run in 2012.