Greensboro, N.C. ? Former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee put the squeeze on a politician at the North Carolina Republican Party convention, but in a good way.

The former Arkansas governor performed the Heimlich maneuver on Robert Pittenger, Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, at a lunch Saturday.

Pittenger said he was laughing when he choked on some food.

“I stood up and the governor came over and did the Heimlich and got the relief,” Pittenger said. He said the food dislodged when Huckabee applied the trademark Heimlich squeeze to the midsection.

Pittenger added, “In fact he called me in the car as I was driving home to make sure I was OK.”

Phone messages left for Huckabee on Saturday were not immediately returned.