Huntsman joins nearly a dozen Republicans vying for the White House, many of them with better name recognition and financial backing.
The $4.7 million that former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney raised last year for his yet-to-be-declared 2012 run for the White House places him well ahead of other semi-official Republican contenders.
But a recent public opinion poll reveals that Romney is not favored to win. That distinction goes to Mike Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor who is favored 21 percent over Romney’s 19 percent. Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor who shared the 2008 Republican presidential ticket with Arizona senator John McCain, is favored by 17 percent of the American people.
Palin and Huckabee have staked their political future on a relatively small segment of the American public: middleclass whites who consider themselves “conservative” or “very conservative.”
Romney supporters tend to be more diverse, more affluent, better educated, and more moderate in their political and social views.
None of the Republican wannabes in the 2012 presidential race have officially declared their candidacy, but most have formed for fund-raising purposes political action committees (PACs).
Romney, the best organized White House aspirant, has created PACs in several states key to a presidential victory during the primaries leading up to the November 2012 election, including Iowa, Michigan, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.
Other Republicans who have indicated — with varying degrees of conviction — their interest in running for president include Haley Barbour, governor of Mississippi; Mitch Daniels, governor of Indiana; Kohn Thune, senator from South Dakota; Newt Gingrich, former US Representative from Georgia and Speaker of the House; and Tim Pawlenty, former governor of Minnesota.
In 21st Century American national politics, successful presidential candidates usually raise the most money. Romney’s $4.7 million election fund also bespeaks a campaign organization that rivals Palin and Huckabee.
Though he lacks Romney’s political network, Gingrich has by far the bigger election war chest: $13.7 million. These funds were raised by a non-PAC, thereby exempting this thrice-married, former college professor from financial audits by election officials.
Palin, who has only one PAC and virtually no national political organization, has raised $3.6 million. Tim Pawlenty’s single PAC has garnered $2.1 million. And Mike Huckabee, also with just one PAC, has raised just under $1 million.
Almost all of the front-running presidential aspirants have political beliefs and “personal baggage” that make them far from ideal candidates for the White House.
Many voters object to Gingrich’s many marriages, while a majority of Americans, 42 percent, have a “highly unfavorable” opinion of Palin. Huckabee’s release, while governor, of a prisoner who later murdered four police officers would likely work against him during a run for the White House. The first president Bush used this issue with great success to defeat his Democrat opponent in the 1998 election.
Romney’s implementation of a state-wide healthcare system during his tenure as Massachusetts governor would also likely be a negative. His plan is virtually identical to “Obama Care” health insurance reform measures that the Republican Party is vowing to repeal.
