The Republican presidential candidates and their campaigns are intensely focused in on the Iowa caucus vote, with the exception of one candidate, former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman.
Mr. Huntsman has focused all of his on the ground efforts in New Hampshire, the state with the nation’s second primary election on January 10th. Last week, he was quoted as saying “they pick corn” in Iowa, and he used an appearance on CNN Monday to reiterate his sentiments about the Hawkeye state.
“No regrets,” said Mr. Huntsman regarding his decision to spend virtually no time campaigning in Iowa. “You’ve got to lay out your assets and resources in states where you think you can do the best. And listen, the rap on me is, ‘That Huntsman guy, he can go on and he can win the general election – can he do well in some of the early primary states?’ This is a state to be sure that likes to reward underdogs. I’m an underdog in this race. And if you get out and work hard, this is a level playing field.”
The former U.S. Ambassador to China has consistently placed near the bottom of the race in polls of Iowa voters, as well as polls nationwide.
However in a mid-December Suffolk University poll of likely New Hampshire primary voters, Mr. Huntsman was surging into third place behind former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.
Although Mr. Romney is still considered the favorite to win New Hampshire next week, Mr. Huntsman is hoping his aggressive courtship of New Hampshire voters will pay off next week. He has received several newspaper endorsements there, and if Mr. Gingrich’s decline in Iowa carries over to the Granite state next week, Mr. Huntsman could emerge as a serious contender for the Republican nomination in 2012.
“I feel pretty good about having come from the margin of error. We came into this state as a complete asterisk, at zero, and now we’re bumping into the teens,” said Mr. Huntsman Monday. “And with the unpredictable nature of the race so far, I think we are positioned pretty well.”
Although the former Utah governor appears to be in third place in New Hampshire, he still greatly trailing the front running trio of Mr. Gingrich, Mr. Romney and Texas congressman Ron Paul in nationwide polls.
However, he believes that a strong finish in New Hampshire will change the minds of voters in later primary elections as the race goes forward.
“All the drama and all the theater of the preseason is going to be behind them and they’re going to look at that ballot box and they’re going to say, ‘I actually have to cast a vote for somebody who can be president of the United States of America,” said Mr. Huntsman adding that voters in New Hampshire will “render a very sensible judgment, which will likely transform the landscape of this race.”
