Lately, Huntsman has been making an effort to portray himself as a conservative candidate, but with limited success.
According to polling, his supporters are almost entirely independent and moderate voters. A Suffolk University/7News tracking poll Thursday found that 12 percent of moderates and 9 percent of liberals supported Huntsman, compared to 3 percent of conservatives. He got support from 1 percent of those who said their values are similar to the Tea Party’s.
Asked about the phenomenon, Huntsman said he knows that a “broad cross-section of the electorate’’ attends his events. “If we have moderate supporters - we even have some Democrats there - that’s OK, because I think people are looking for leadership,’’ he said. “I’m not going to draw boundaries.’’
Independent voters, officially called undeclared, can vote in the Republican primary.
One such voter is Mark Reynolds, who works in marketing for Keene State College. Reynolds voted for President Obama and considers himself a “rabid independent.’’ He is now disappointed in Obama and leaning toward Huntsman. Reynolds said he thinks Mitt Romney is a “flip-flopper’’ and the other candidates are too extreme. “Huntsman seems more reasonable,’’ he said.
Sue Daigle, a reiki practitioner from Stratham and independent, is supporting Huntsman. Daigle considers herself a moderate and likes Huntsman’s views on maintaining a friendly relationship with China, cutting the budget, term limits for Congress, and fixing Social Security. “I find him to be very real, less political than the others,’’ Daigle said.
From the start, Huntsman distinguished himself as more moderate than his rivals. In August, he criticized the other candidates for refusing to compromise on raising the debt ceiling. On climate change, he tweeted: “To be clear. I believe in evolution and trust scientists on global warming. Call me crazy.’’
