Jon Huntsman Drops Out of Presidential Race

Authors: Carol E. Lee & Neil King Jr.
Source: Wall Street Journal
Date: 16 January, 2012

Huntsman intends to end campaign for the presidential nomination race. A spokesperson for Huntsman says "He's going to endorse Gov. Romney tomorrow and urge the party to come together". Huntsman was proud of his finish in the New Hampshire primary, winning third place, but he feels like he's getting in the way of Romney who has a chance at defeating President Obama. He will formally resign on Monday morning in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and most likely will not take part in Monday night's republican debate. When Huntsman started his campaign in June "He promised to run on a platform of civility and competence, pledging to restore faith in the American political system." and expectations were high. Huntsman never became a popular with the Republicans because of his past relations with Obama and his position on social issues such as gay rights. Huntsman went "all in" for the New Hampshire primary but he only won third place. His confidence declined, and it showed when he said his expectations were low for South Carolina. He was polling in the single digits in South Carolina, and it was not going to get any better in Florida either. The Republican nominee pool is shrinking.

With Huntsman out of the picture who's the next dropout? Huntsman dropping out will now allow his fan base to choose another candidate. Huntsman says he will endorse Romney which may get Romney more voters and get farther away from the other candidates. With this new information I can now evaluate that these candidates will say anything to get ahead. The author seems to agree that Huntsman made the right choice by dropping out of the race. The author, Carol Lee, has the quotes that make Huntsman contradict himself by calling Romney unelectable, then endorsing him. Now with Michele Bachmann and Jon Huntsman out of the race and possibly Rick Perry in the upcoming week, the race is becoming smaller and smaller. The impact is pretty big and it's looking out to be a race between Romney, Paul, Gingrich, and Santorum.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204555904577163624064409552.html