Written by Keith Roberts on Aug 28, 2011 // Category: Politics
Although Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman is polling last against his competitors, he believes he will be able to clinch the nomination for president once the GOP primary is over next year. In an interview with FOX News, Huntsman says not to look that closely into the preliminary polling data.
“If this had been the reality last go-around in 2008, Fred Thompson would be president if you kind of read the polls then. Howard Dean would have been president in 2004,” Huntsman said in an interview on Saturday. “How many front-runners have we had in this race already in several months? Probably four or five.”
The former governor is polling 1% nationally, according to the latest Gallup poll released this week. He is well behind the current front-runner Rick Perry, who is polling in at 29%. He is also behind Mitt Romney (17%), Ron Paul (13%), Michele Bachmann (10%), Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich (4% each, respectively), and Rick Santorum’s 3%.
“I like our chances because our message is straightforward, it’s honest, it’s based on my record, and it’s based on a commonsense conversation with the people who are facing a Category 5 economic storm in this country,” the former Utah Governor said in the interview.
The polling was taken from August 17-21; the latter date was the day that Huntsman made headlines on an ABC weekend talk show by criticizing his Republican rivals, including Rick Perry’s evolution comments, Michele Bachmann’s promise to lower gas to $2/gallon, and Mitt Romney’s flip-flops throughout his career. The interview was then highlighted on various news programs throughout the week. He also did other interviews shortly afterwards, including with CNN’s Piers Morgan Tonight and PBS’s NewsHour. Huntsman is also scheduled to appear on NBC’s Meet the Press this morning.
0 Comments