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SALT LAKE CITY -- One presidential hopeful has already dropped out of the race for the White House. Tim Pawlenty withdrew after a disappointing finish at the Iowa straw poll.
A political pollster is asking if Jon Huntsman be next.
Huntsman spent a good amount of time in New Hampshire, a critical primary state. While there, he hired Pawlenty's former New Hampshire campaign manager, Sarah Crawford Stewart.
"Listen, (in) any organization you're always looking at fine-tuning and perfecting, whether it's a business, whether it's a campaign, whether it's your family. Why wouldn't you look for ways to improve here and there?" Huntsman asked.
But Huntsman could be facing an uphill battle as he heads back to Utah today to raise some campaign cash.
According to Politico, a Gallop poll says after last Thursday's GOP debate, rank-and-file Republicans showed few signs of enthusiasm for Huntsman's campaign. In fact, among Republican voters, Huntsman's name recognition has remained around 39 percent.
Pollster Frank Newport also speculates that if Huntsman doesn't improve his name recognition numbers soon his campaign will struggle moving forward and could end up like Pawlenty's, with an early exit from the race.
"Whether he will be able to emerge as a viable candidate going forward is doubtful," Newport said.
But Stewart told New Hampshire's Union Leader on Monday, "Gov. Huntsman is committed to winning the New Hampshire primary, and I look forward to helping him and his team do just that."
E-mail: rjeppesen@ksl.com
