HANOVER, N.H. – Don’t throw dirt on Jon Huntsman’s campaign in the Granite State. Or at least that was the former Utah governor’s message at of all places — a retirement community — in the college town of Tuesday’s presidential debate.
Huntsman, speaking to about 100 seniors a few miles from Dartmouth College, declared New Hampshire as “a state we can do well in and win.”
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To say Huntsman needs a strong showing here would be an understatement.
Still polling in low single digits nationwide, the Huntsman campaign pulled its headquarters out of Florida to focus entirely on New Hampshire. Yet, he still has failed to garner more than 5 percent of the vote in most polls of likely New Hampshire voters.
Huntsman remains more than 30 points behind overwhelming frontrunner Mitt Romney, according to the most recent New Hampshire poll.
And Huntsman wasn’t greeted by the friendliest of crowds at the retirement community, either.
One questioner referred to Huntsman as “disingenuous” in calling for a balanced budget amendment. This reporter also spotted a few seniors dozing off during their usual post-lunch nap hour.
Huntsman used the forum to rip Romney’s Massachusetts health care plan and showcased his moderate streak on foreign policy, declaring, the United States should be “a little more skeptical when it comes to foreign entanglements.”
