To win in New Hampshire, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman needs to convince his party’s base that he is as conservative as his rivals. Some in the media have taken notice. Huntsman’s “record as governor,” Erick Erickson wrote, “is more conservative than Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney combined.”
His overall “program is the most conservative,” George Will added.
The reassessment of Huntsman’s conservative record could be changing his fortunes. Recent events show his momentum is building in New Hampshire. The latest 7 News/Suffolk University poll shows Huntsman in third place there, at 13 percent among likely voters.
On Sunday, a pair of New Hampshire’s papers, the Keene Sentinel and the Valley News, endorsed Huntsman.
And Huntsman’s campaign hopes that New Hampshire’s independents, free to participate in either party’s primary, will help make up the difference.
If his message breaks through within the primary, Huntsman’s supporters argue, he then has the tools to rise to the top in New Hampshire’s Jan. 10 contest.
First, Huntsman has the most foreign policy expertise. He served as ambassador to Singapore and China (though he has drawn criticism from accepting the latter post in Obama’s administration).
Second, Huntsman may be the answer to his party’s concerns over its top two candidates. Like Gingrich, he is intelligent and can articulate policy — but without the sharp edges or past ethics issues which could boomerang against Gingrich in the general election.
Like Romney, Huntsman appeals to the political center — but without being bogged down with the perception of political expediency. Though this has not always benefited Huntsman; he has alienated party activists by resisting party orthodoxies in some of his positions.
Third, Huntsman was respected on both sides of the aisle when he was Utah’s governor, because he was “reasonable” and “effective.” His record as governor, wrote the Keene Sentinel in its endorsement, “proves that he is capable of working with political opposites” — a skill that will be “critical” for the next president “in a time of intractable political and ideological gridlock.”
This natural, broad appeal has not gone unnoticed by Obama’s team. Senior advisor David Plouffe once said the thought of facing Huntsman in 2012 made him “a wee bit queasy.”
Timing could also help Huntsman. All of the other front-runners peaked too soon before falling from grace, and Gingrich’s poll numbers are starting to tick downward after recent scrutiny.
Huntsman, who moved his campaign to New Hampshire, has already picked up endorsements by a half-dozen New Hampshire legislators, and a trio of directors from the state’s Veterans of Foreign Wars.
With only a few weeks left, Huntsman faces obstacles in communicating his message. The national media has ignored him, focusing upon the perceived front-runners and the more flamboyant characters instead.
He also trails in money, though a pro-Huntsman PAC has injected over $1 million for advertising in New Hampshire.
After the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 3 clear out some of the candidates, it could be Huntsman’s time.
If he catches a much-needed break, predicted former RNC chair Michael Steele, Huntsman is poised to “cut through” the Republican field “like a knife through hot butter.”
Adam Silbert, an attorney, was a deputy field organizer for the 2008 Obama campaign in Pennsylvania.
Adam Silbert, an attorney, was a deputy field organizer for the 2008 Obama campaign in Pennsylvania.
