Must Read: Is Jon Huntsman’s Presidential Campaign Finished?
Former Utah governor Jon Huntsman officially announced his presidential campaign to much fanfare three weeks ago, positioning himself as a competent, reasonable, not-insane Republican. However, as Talking Points Memo notes, Huntsman hasn’t made many waves since. Obama’s former ambassador to China nets between 1 and 2 percent of the vote in early polls – even in his home state, where he’s been bested by fellow-Mormon Mitt Romney. (Romney pulled in an incredible 95 percent of the votes in 2008’s Utah primary and has landed high-profile endorsements from state leaders.) But perhaps the most telling indicator that 2012 might not be Huntsman’s year: Rep. Jason Chaffetz, his campaign manager in the 2004 gubernatorial race, is now on Romney’s team. “It was a little difficult,” Chaffetz tells TPM. “Jon Huntsman is a good man, but when your goal is to beat Barack Obama I just think Mitt Romney is in a much better position to do that. [TPM]