Thomas MacMillan Photo
Huntsman on the hunt.
Bedford, N.H.— Nick Masci voted for Barack Obama in 2008. After hearing a Republican presidential candidate “who’s not a radical” challenge his party’s line on immigration, he considered pulling a different lever this time.
The pitch came from former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, the longshot pundit-adored candidate who has pinned his hopes for the Republican nomination on posting a strong showing in New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary Tuesday.
On Sunday night, he showed up at the home of Jason and Heidi Cole on Hitching Post Lane in Bedford, outside of Manchester. The house party was one of a day full of campaign events as Huntsman sprints to the Tuesday New Hampshire primary along with the rest of the pack of Republican contenders.
He made an impression on at least one member of the group of voters Republicans will have to win over if they hope to win the White House in November: independents and moderates who voted for Obama in 2008.
In the process, his appearance reflected a dilemma facing candidates like Huntsman and Romney who have conservative but moderate histories compared to other GOP candidates. To win their party’s nomination, they need to appeal to the right-wing, Tea Party-oriented base that disproportionately votes and volunteers in primaries (as the left does in Democratic primaries). But to win a general election, they need to appeal to the center — especially the rising number of independent voters, like the Coles. Those voters made Barack Obama president.
Immigration is an example of the issue such candidates navigate carefully. Most of the candidates have taken a hard stand on immigration — electric fences, deputized local law enforcement, echoing suggestions that immigrants are harming the country. When candidate Rick Perry tried to take a somewhat different stance, for instance, Romney attacked him for it, and Perry retreated. That has left Huntsman as the last moderate standing on the issue.
Huntsman arrived after 5 p.m. Sunday at the Coles’ hillside house, which was brightly lit up by a cadre of camera crews. After a brief gaggle with the press outside, Huntsman squeezed into the living room, where he gave a stump speech from the family hearth.
“This is a state that loves its underdogs,” said Huntsman, who despite fawning media attention has trailed so far behind in the polls that he sometimes appears as “other” in results.
“Today we find ourselves in a hole,” he said. The nation is more divided and less competitive and productive, he said.
He promised, if elected, an “industrial renaissance” and an end to the “revolving door” that turns civil servants into lobbyists. He promised action on banks. “If you’re too big to fail, you’re too big.” And he promised to work on term limits for Congress.
Huntsman took three questions, including one on stopping illegal immigration.
“We’ve already stopped immigration,” he said. “We’ve screwed up the economy” so bad that “no one’s coming over.”
He said he was joking, but also said the stats show that immigration has slowed down.
He said the border needs to be secured, but people can’t just be sent home if they’ve been here for years. “We’ve got to sit around and find a solution.”
After a few personal greetings, another scrum with reporters, and an exclusive TV interview in the Coles’s garage, Huntsman slipped back into his waiting SUV. But not before Masci shook his hand and told him he liked his answer on immigration.
“I like his message about term limits,” Masci said. Huntsman’s answer on immigration was “very balanced,” he said.
“He’s not a radical,” Masci said. “A lot of Republicans would take down the country to take down Obama.”
Masci said he’s registered as an Independent and plans to vote in the Republican primary. But he still might vote for Obama again in the general, he said.
His wife Liz said she’s voting for Obama again. She said Huntsman lost her on his “crazy right-to-life” stance on abortion.
After Huntsman’s motorcade rolled out of the driveway, the Mascis headed back to their house to finish watching the Steelers and the Broncos.
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