GOP Candidates 2016: Mike Huckabee Talks Gay Marriage, Scott Walker On ISIS And More From Republican Hopefuls

Mike Huckabee said Sunday it would be insensitive to ask many Christians to change their stance on gay marriage, calling it a "biblical issue." The former Arkansas governor and likely contender for the GOP presidential bid reiterated his position on gay marriage during an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union.” Huckabee, the first Republican conservative to indicate he's considering a 2016 run, also defended an excerpt from his new book, “God, Guns, Grits and Gravy,” in which he wrote about having gay friends but not supporting same-sex marriage.

“This is not just a political issue. It is a biblical issue,” Huckabee said. “And as a biblical issue -- unless I get a new version of the scriptures, it's really not my place to say, 'OK, I'm just going to evolve.'” He then likened asking Christians to support gay marriage to “asking someone who's Jewish to start serving bacon-wrapped shrimp in their deli.”

In a separate interview Sunday on ABC, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker hinted at a possible presidential bid and said he supported taking greater military action in the Middle East. "I don’t know that I’d take the odds," Walker told the ABC’S “This Week” about running for president. "I’ll just tell you one thing. After three elections for governor in four years in a state that hasn’t gone Republican since 1984 for president, I wouldn’t bet against me on anything."

When asked about how the U.S. should handle fighting the Islamic State group, also called ISIS, Walker said he would have the country explore “other surgical methods.”

"I think anywhere and everywhere, we have to go beyond just aggressive airstrikes," he said. "Ultimately, we have to be prepared to put boots on the ground if that’s what it takes."

Huckabee, who has been a commentator on Fox News since he won the Iowa Republican caucuses in 2008 but ultimately lost the nomination to Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., last month, left his gig at Fox in preparation for a possible presidential run.

“I won't make a decision about running until late in the spring of 2015, but the continued chatter has put Fox News into a position that is not fair to them,” Huckabee stated on his Facebook page. “The honorable thing to do at this point is to end my tenure here at Fox so I can openly talk with potential donors and supporters and gauge support.”

Huckabee would likely have to square off with other GOP favorites like former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. The likely GOP frontrunner for 2016 would be Bush, according to the Washington Post, after 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney officially bowed out last week. “It’s a great day for Jeb Bush,” Brian Ballard, who led Romney’s 2012 fundraising effort in Florida, told the Post. “I think Jeb had 75 percent of the money folks here. This brings in the other 25 percent.”

Paul took aim at Bush during an interview with the Hill Friday, saying his potential rival was a hypocrite for smoking marijuana but opposing medical marijuana. “This is a guy who now admits he smoked marijuana but he wants to put people in jail who do,” Paul told the Hill. “I think that’s the real hypocrisy, is that people on our side, which include a lot of people who made mistakes growing up, admit their mistakes but now still want to put people in jail for that.” Bush recently admitted to the Boston Globe that he smoked marijuana in high school.