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Huntsman Exodus Begins

Some staffers have departed, others wish they could. “We’re not going to quit, but we don’t really want to keep going either.”

I know, right? Now tell your friends!
Huntsman Exodus Begins
Zeke Miller

(Getty Images / Richard Ellis)

Days after his third place finish in New Hampshire, some Huntsman for President staffers have already left the campaign, while others tell BuzzFeed they wish the former Utah governor would drop out so they could join Mitt Romney’s team.

One top volunteer told BuzzFeed that he was shocked Huntsman didn’t drop out on Tuesday. “I was hoping he would. I don’t want to be disloyal or anything, but he doesn’t have a chance anymore. Once he quits, then I can go work for a winning campaign.”

A current staffer echoed those sentiments, saying Huntsman should have gotten out after New Hampshire to allow those who’ve worked for him to find another job. “We’re not going to quit, but we don’t really want to keep going either.”

According to one former staffer, “many New Hampshire-focused staffers are no longer with the campaign,” though he said that was always the campaign’s plan.

“Some of the staff dedicated to New Hampshire aren't going on to South Carolina as we have had seasoned South Carolina staff in place for months," said Tim Miller, Huntsman’s press secretary.

But that was not universally true: Granite State spokesman Michael Levoff followed Huntsman down south on Wednesday.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s staff is likewise disgruntled after he announced last week that he was staying in the race after an embarrassing finish in Iowa on Twitter, before informing his aides.

Reached en route from New Hampshire to the Palmetto State, Miller took aim at the anonymous staffers.

“It's unfortunate that an anonymous person would want to undermine Gov. Huntsman's efforts when we have so many dedicated staff and volunteers who are working hard to ensure Gov. Huntsman beats expectations once again," he said.

Miller added that Huntsman is opening his second South Carolina office this week, and is quickly adding volunteers in the state.

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5 Responses So Far

  • I thought Huntsman wanted to bring the troops home from Afghanistan? But his staffers apparently are itching to jump to a campaign whose candidate wants to continue the wars?  Ron Paul is hiring and he'll be in this as long as Mitt Romney, and probably longer.

    valleyf
    4 months ago
  • dailypaul.com readers just made Huntsman Exodus Begins hotter  about 4 months ago
  • gop12.thehill.com readers just made Huntsman Exodus Begins hotter  about 4 months ago
  • It's kind of unfortunate, because Huntsman was the only republican I would've considered for president.

    zacharylazerfacem
    4 months ago
  • lol ron paultards/conspiracy theorists all over this post. can't wait til he drops out

    R.
    4 months ago
  • Snoozy   Huntsman Exodus Begins  about 4 months ago
  • huffingtonpost.com readers just made Huntsman Exodus Begins hotter  about 4 months ago
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  • swampland.time.com readers just made Huntsman Exodus Begins hotter  about 4 months ago
  • Is there any way Mitt Romney can adopt the Huntsman daughters, so that we can continue to see them? It seems like something he would conceivably agree to. Maybe he could (temporarily) swap three of his sons for them, just until the campaign ends. I'm not ready to see Abby go, quite frankly.

    LeSamourai
    4 months ago
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  • TxBlackLabel thinks Huntsman Exodus Begins is WTF & LOL  about 4 months ago
  • 2010 this guy was mentioned a few times, late 2010 I didn't even know he was in the race. Ron Paul surges up to 2nd place and Huntsman is what a lot in the media wanted in 2nd place. All I've seen him do is speak Mandarin and show off his daughters and say the generic political phrases.

    TxBlackLabel
    4 months ago

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