Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, whose 2012 presidential bid ended shortly after his third-place finish in the New Hampshire primary, said former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush could easily finish high enough in the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses to spur on sufficient momentum for a 2016 run.
“You gotta play Iowa. You don’t have to win [in] Iowa, but you have to get the top four and Jeb Bush could easily get the top four,” Mr. Huntsman said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “But he had to get going to New Hampshire and do well, and you get the big mo going into South Carolina, which would be a good state for Governor Bush, then you got Florida and Super Tuesday, so you gotta play Iowa, which is what some people have avoided in the past.”
Mr. Bush announced Tuesday he was actively exploring a bid for the presidency in 2016, and his comparatively moderate positions on education and immigration might play better among primary voters in New Hampshire or South Carolina than the activists who vote in the Iowa caucuses.
Mr. Huntsman recalled that he chose not to try to compete in Iowa - “not that we were in any way a perfect model to follow” - and tried put his chips down in New Hampshire.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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