Huntsman seeks to define candidacy in N.H. primary

Huntsman has decided not to compete in the Iowa caucuses, and the road through New Hampshire will not be easy. He is entering a wide-open Republican field, in which he will probably woo moderate voters who until now have focused much of their attention on former governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts. Huntsman has little name recognition — a recent Globe poll by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center found he would get about 3 percent of the vote — and has already faced criticism from members of his own party and Democrats. Democrats have criticized him for embracing House Republicans’ plan to change Medicare to a voucher system, while Republicans worry about his service to Obama.

“His biggest problem was his fawning comments about President Obama,’’ said former governor John H. Sununu of New Hampshire, a Republican. “It appears to me that the only reason he took the appointment with Obama was he liked the president, believes in his philosophy and principles, and supports Obama. Coincidentally, it seemed like a useful step on the road to the presidential candidacy.’’

Dean Spiliotes, an independent political analyst in New Hampshire not affiliated with any presidential candidate, said Huntsman’s challenge will be to distinguish himself from Romney, because he will not appeal to the more right-wing segment of the state’s Republican Party. “The question is, what does he need to do to be seen as a plausible alternative to Mitt Romney?’’ he said. “He wants to be an interesting, fresher alternative to Romney.’’

One hint of how Huntsman will compete with Romney came in a recent interview with The New York Times, in which he said the primary campaign would be about both the economy and “authenticity.’’ Romney has faced criticism for taking positions more conservative than those he espoused running for office in Massachusetts.