Huntsman 2016?

Heather Ginsberg | November 27, 2013 1:57 PM

After failing to make it to the South Carolina primary in 2012, Jon Huntsman looked like he was giving up on a political career. But recent statements in New Hampshire are getting attention from national media outlets.

The former governor of Utah, Jon Huntsman came in third place in the New Hampshire primary in 2012, but had to call it quits before making it to South Carolina. He hedged all of his bets on New Hampshire and spent all of his money there. When results did not come out in his favor, many believed this would be the end of his public service. Just a few months ago Huntsman was even quoted saying that he is “not insane” and that he wants to return to public life after giving the best years of his life to politics.

But on Monday this week, Huntsman told an audience at St. Anselm College that he remains devoted to public service. In his long answer to a question about his 2016 intentions, Huntsman said, “Which is a long way of saying that I love public service. I’ll always be committed to public service. And as an itinerant public servant, from time to time it’s hard to know where you’re gonna wind up. But I’m not here as a candidate tonight, that’s for sure.”

Huntsman ran as a more moderate Republican in the 2012 primary, but unfortunately he fell short of reaching the national stage. Following the disappointing results of the 2012 election, many concluded that the Republican Party needed to find a candidate that could not only unite the party behind him, but also reach to the people in the middle. It seemed that perhaps this could have been Mr. Huntsman. Voted the most conservative Governor in the country at the time of his governorship, Huntsman was the solid conservative that many felt could reach to the middle with some of his more liberal social political opinions.