Huntsman Schedules Two Upstate Stops Early Next Week

Earlier today the campaign of presidential candidate Jon Huntsman announced that the former Utah governor and diplomat will be attending two events in the Upstate on Monday and Tuesday of next week. On Monday, Huntsman will be speaking at Mutt’s Barbeque on 101 Country Road 305 in Greer. On Tuesday, Huntsman has scheduled an announcement related to the South Carolina portion of his campaign at the Clemson International Center for Automotive Research in Greenville. The event in Greer requires tickets (contact information is at the bottom of this article).

The visit, which is being organized through the combined efforts of the Spartanburg and Greenville Republican parties, will be Huntsman’s second visit to South Carolina since officially announcing his candidacy on June 21.

For the last several months, Huntsman has received a level of media coverage that . Although, he is well known in his native Utah and among the political class in Washington, D.C., he is still a relative unknown to the national electorate.

Much of the attention given to Huntsman is based on the belief, spelled out in a Time Magazine article in May, that he may be the Republicans best chance at defeating President Obama in the general election.

LaDonna Ryggs, Chairman of the Spartanburg County Republican Party said that the exposure Huntsman has received is all well and good but it has it its dangers as well. “He can’t let the media define him,” Ryggs said. “Ultimately, he has to introduce himself to voters. They want to see him in person and shake his hand.”

Ryggs, whose group does not endorse candidates, also added, ”Huntsman has people who can open doors for him here, so he’ll get the chance to tell his story.”

One of those people is longtime State Attorney General Henry McMaster, who will introduce Huntsman in Greer.

Huntsman is a compelling candidate if only because of his biography, which is nothing if not robust, given that he is still just 51 years old.

Huntsman is one of nine children to billionaire businessman and philanthropist Jon Huntsman, Sr. He did not followed his father’s career path in the world of business however, opting instead for a life mostly of public service. He dropped out of high school to play in a rock band, later getting his GED and enrolling at the University of Utah before graduating from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in international politics. During his time in college, Huntsman, who is Morman, went on a two-year mission to Taiwan.

Huntsman has worked in the administration of every president since Ronald Reagan, except for Bill Clinton. While still in his twenties, Huntsman was a staffer for Reagan. In the 1980s he returned to Taiwan for two years with his young family (he and his wife now have five children).

Huntsman then served under George H.W. Bush as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce. He worked for George W. Bush as Deputy United States Trade Representative.

Huntsman then ran for Governor of Utah in 2004 and won. He ran for re-election in 2008 and won with 78 percent of the vote, an impressive figure even in a conservative bastion such as Utah. At times during his tenure, Huntsman achieved a job approval rating of over 80 percent.

But in a somewhat surprising move, Huntsman stepped down midway through his second term and became United States Ambassador to China at the request of President Obama. He kept the position until the spring of this year when he began exploring a presidential candidacy.

Some of the biggest questions about Huntsman among some conservatives are his religion, the fact that he actually worked in the administration of a Democratic president and his beliefs on climate change. His record of being business-friendly has few peers. His public statements on a variety of issues can be found here.

Huntsman is attempting to model his candidacy on Reagan, even going so far as to launch the campaign on Liberty Island outside of New York City, as Reagan did. During the launch he made a point of returning civility to public discourse.

While Huntsman may be appealing to more centrist voters, he must make his way past another candidate with a similar background to his (early front-runner in polling Mitt Romney) and candidates with stronger conservative credentials (Michelle Bachman, Herman Cain and Tim Pawlenty) to get the opportunity to test that appeal more broadly. And to do that, he will probably have to win South Carolina, which has selected every nominee since Reagan in 1980.

Ryggs believes Huntsman will receive a fair hearing from voters in the Palmetto State. “With the economy being such a major issue, I don’t think passing the “litmus test” is as important,” she said. Ryggs added that she believes the race is wide open.

The contact information for voters seeking tickets to the event on Tuesday (cost is $20) is below:

Betty Poe, Chairman
Greenville County Republican Party
864-907-1577 or bspoe@charter.net

LaDonna Ryggs, Chairman
Spartanburg County Republican Party
864-906-5574 or ryberta@yahoo.com