Statecraft Roundup: Huntsman boycotts Nevada debate, caucus

SALT LAKE CITY -- Resigning from his position as U.S. Ambassador to China, Jon Huntsman made his way back to the United States to seek out the Republican nomination in an effort to challenge incumbent President Barack Obama in Nov. 2012. Since joining the Republican field of presidential hopefuls, the Huntsman campaign has remained fairly stagnant, having little impact on the national political landscape.

However, as Huntsman's campaign has evolved, the former Utah governor has failed to make an impact with voters, trailing in nearly every national poll by significant margins, with most polls showing Huntsman in last place. And with his almost non-existent performances in the prior Republican debates, many are completely overlooking the governor's campaign entirely, despite his want to not be the typical politician.

Nevertheless, the Huntsman campaign remains in the race, looking to give voters another option in the upcoming presidential primaries and caucuses, which is expected to start on Jan. 3 in Iowa. Here is a look at the most recent news about the Jon Huntsman campaign.

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Jon Huntsman:

• On Tuesday, GOP presidential hopefuls will participate in the CNN/Western Republican Presidential Debate in Las Vegas, Nevada, minus one candidate -- Jon Huntsman. Early last week, the Huntsman campaign announced it would boycott the Las Vegas debate after reports of Nevada Republicans looking to move their caucus to January, which is currently not allowed. The move by Nevada Republicans would have implications on the state of New Hampshire, which has as part of their state constitution the law to be the first primary in the nation, with at least seven between the next primary. But a move by Nevada would force the New Hampshire primary to be in December.

  "In an effort to preserve New Hampshire's historic first-in-the-nation primary status, the Huntsman campaign will boycott the Nevada caucus as long as the state continues to jeopardize New Hampshire's primary date," Huntsman's campaign manager Matt David said in a statement. "We call on the other campaigns to join us, especially Governor Romney's campaign given their involvement in moving Nevada's date forward." Several Republican candidates, including Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum, have joined with Huntsman to boycott the state if it moves forward with the change. However, the boycott is a great public relations opportunity for the candidates, who will likely lose in Nevada with Romney trending so well in state polls. Any opportunity to help a candidate's campaign look above politics is a win.

Nevertheless, Romney has said he will continue to pursue the state of Nevada, whether it moves up or not. "Gov. Romney is running a national campaign and is prepared to compete in every state," said Romney press secretary Andrea Saul. "He believes that Iowa's first-in- the-nation caucus and New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary should be preserved and he looks forward to competing in every other nominating contest -- whenever they are scheduled."

Although the move would hurt the influence of the New Hampshire primary, Hunstman has a lot at stake in the Granite State, putting his entire campaign on a win in New Hampshire.

"If you're not with the people of New Hampshire, one then has to wonder where you are," Huntsman told reporters in New Hampshire. "And to upend the calendar at this point really does smack of politics to some degree ... and gladly we received responses from almost all of the candidates, I think with the exception of Romney and Perry. Everyone ought to be expressing some level of outrage."

1. Last week, Huntsman delivered a foreign policy speech at Southern New Hampshire University, detailing his plans for a better focus on modern-day challenges and the military, saying he would support the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan within a year. "We are a nation mired in multiple military engagements overseas, and in the grips of an economic crisis at home," Huntsman said. We still have remnants of a top-heavy, post-Cold War infrastructure. It needs to be transformed to reflect the 21st Century world, and the growing asymmetric threats we face."

   Huntsman added that he would not be opposed to a preemptive strike against Iran if it was necessary, saying: "I cannot live with a nuclear-armed Iran. If you want an example of when I would consider the use of American force, it would be that."
2. Huntsman's daughters have joined the political debates for their father, using their account on Twitter as a way to combat opposing ideas and joke about controversial topics.

Following last Tuesday's debate in New Hampshire, Huntsman's daughters criticized remarks made about China, tweeting: "How does Romney know anything about China? He's only been there once and that was for the Olympics. Panda express doesn't count." Joking about Herman Cain's 9-9-9 plan, they tweeted: "We could buy a $9.99 pizza. Sounds like Godfather pizza just found their new fall ad."

And on Tuesday, hours before the Las Vegas debate was to start, Huntsman's daughters tweeted: "Excited for dad's townhall tonight in Hopkinton, NH while just another Vegas show unfolds out west. #cirquedesoleildebate"

The Hunstman daughters have also been invited to blog on the Huffington Post.

1. On Friday, the Huntsman campaign announced it was nearly broke, but was optimistic about the future. The campaign reported having only $327,000 on hand and $890,000 in debt. Huntsman has already contributed $2.25 million to the $4.51 million raised so far. "Governor Huntsman has the best record and boldest vision for leading this country and our campaign will have the resources necessary to ensure he will win New Hampshire and go on to the nomination," said Tim Miller. "Our campaign has reorganized to become more nimble with a focus on success in New Hampshire and our fundraising this first two weeks of this quarter has reflected that."

   It appears more and more likely the Huntsman campaign will struggle to muster up enough support if Huntsman fails to obtain a victory in New Hampshire. *Email: jfurlong@ksl.com*Twitter: @JFurKSL

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