Will he or won't he? Inside the movement to 'draft' Jon Huntsman back into the governor's race

SALT LAKE CITY — On July 6, one week after the pandemic-altered the June 30 primary election, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. conceded the race to Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox.

In a statement that never mentioned Cox by name, Huntsman said he accepted "the will of the people" and would "find a way to continue to contribute to the good of our community."

Not even a week later, speculation began to swirl: Might that way be to continue the race for governor?

After all, Huntsman had fallen short by less than 6,500 votes. Moreover, Cox won the primary with just over 36% of the overall vote, the result of a four-way race that pulled the victor far below a majority.

Huntsman seemed to quash rumors of a resurrected run when he quickly issued a statement saying he "won’t be pursuing any efforts for a write-in campaign." But the issue didn't die. And now, just days before write-in candidates must file to be counted, the subject still isn't moot — far from it. Huntsman supporters have hung recycled campaign signs from freeway overpasses with new stickers directing the public to DraftJon.com and exhorting them to #WriteInHuntsman. They've taken out newspaper advertisements, held meetings and started Facebook groups.

Last week a small group talked over polling and data with the man himself. And since July 1 — the day after the primary — Huntsman's mother Karen has given a total of $1,025,000 in three separate installments to her son's campaign, according to financial disclosure reports.

Jon Huntsman's wife, Mary Kaye Huntsman, even teased the possibility in an Aug. 6 Instagram post.

Write-in candidacies are notorious long shots. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, was the last politician to win a statewide write-in race when she knocked off a Tea Party favorite who'd bested her in a 2010 GOP primary. Huntsman supporters understand the obstacles but claim their candidate has all the necessary ingredients to run a competitive — maybe even successful — write-in campaign.

Three Huntsman backers KSL.com spoke to Wednesday said they couldn't coalesce around Cox for various reasons. One raised "ethical concerns" about Cox's handling of statewide coronavirus response, and two mentioned what they perceive as Cox's insufficient support for, and occasional public disagreements with, President Donald Trump.

"I don't for a minute think that Huntsman agrees with everything that Trump does," said Ogden businesswoman Jamie Renda, "but he has the style to address those issues behind closed doors — not on social media."

In a statement, the Cox campaign expressed hope that the former governor would ultimately back the party's nominee.

"The people of Utah were fortunate to have many qualified candidates in this year's primary, including former Gov. Huntsman," the campaign said. "There is no question he is committed to public service, and it is our sincere desire that he and his family will continue to find ways to serve our state. Utah will emerge from this pandemic stronger than before but only if we choose to work together."

The write-in rules

If Huntsman were to dive back into the race, he'd need to notify the state elections office by 5 p.m. Monday, Aug. 31. There is already going to be a write-in space on Utah ballots, courtesy of veteran Richard T. Whitney and Moms Against Masks advocate Madeline Kazantzis, but to write in a candidate who didn't formally file is to throw one's vote away. "It's not counted," said Utah Director of Elections Justin Lee.

"What we do is, we certify to the county clerks those candidates who have qualified to be write-in candidates and then they only count those qualified names," Lee said. "So somebody could write in 'Mickey Mouse' and nothing will happen."

Lee said write-in votes will be counted as long as clerks can "tell the voter's intent" — spelling errors notwithstanding. "If the county judges can tell what the voter means, or who the voter was trying to vote for, they can count that."

The meetings

Renda owns Brixton's Baked Potato in Ogden, home of the "Trump-tater," and has poured "several thousand dollars" of her own money into the draft Huntsman campaign. She's taken out ads in the Standard-Examiner, bought stickers to repurpose Huntsman campaign signs, started a weekly pro-Huntsman newsletter, and done as many radio appearances as she can.

"It's been nonstop for the last seven weeks," Renda said, "to try to make the needle move on this."

Renda was not, she said, a fan of Huntsman during his first run 16 years ago. She fully anticipated she'd support former House Speaker Greg Hughes this time around. But Renda met Huntsman twice in January and February of this year and her perception began to change.

"There was something about him that really drew me to him," she said, including a passion for mental health policy and his longstanding opposition to the state tax on food. She ended up supporting Huntsman as much as Hughes and, ultimately, voted for the former governor in June.

Similarly, Huntsman was not the very first choice of Draper's Alecia Williams — she served as campaign manager for Aimee Winder Newton, who fell just short of a ballot spot at this year's state Republican convention. Weeks before the GOP primary, Williams said, she became a strategic adviser of the Huntsman campaign.

Williams now believes that Huntsman has a broad coalition of supporters that could make him a viable write-in option.

"What really started to build this," she said, "was we had supporters from Hughes, we had supporters from (Thomas) Wright, we had unaffiliated (voters) coming to us, people starting their own websites. ... It was just fascinating to see that this wasn't just Huntsman loyalists that were frustrated with the outcome. This was a coalition of concerned Utahns feeling that their voice was not heard."

Renda, as a public face of the "Draft Jon" movement, attended a meeting weeks ago with supporters from across the political spectrum and came up with six policy points on which they could agree to back Huntsman.

"When we brainstormed, and came up with the six things, the number one thing is that Jon can unite Utah," Renda said. "And that was the one thing we all felt was very important."

The list also mentions protecting civil liberties, helping small businesses through the pandemic, growing the economy, protecting public lands and prioritizing mental health.

Williams attended a meeting last week, first reported by Utah Policy, that made the case for a write-in campaign to Huntsman himself. "We basically were presenting the case that represents the findings, the data, of this entire coalition come together," Williams said.

She sees positive signs in the former governor's willingness to hear them out. "The fact that we got through the meeting tells me that we gathered the right information," Williams said. She said he is "strongly considering" a run. "He took it all into consideration, he asked really thoughtful questions. ... We really feel like we gave compelling arguments."

But she also wouldn't be surprised if Huntsman opts not to pursue the campaign. "I understand how thoughtful he is about this, and cautious."

Ogden resident Amy Lloyd, another former Hughes backer who's jumped on the "Draft Jon" bandwagon, said she's "very optimistic" that Huntsman will declare his candidacy. "I'm confident that he's very seriously considering it," Lloyd said. "If he had come out and said, 'Hey you guys, thank you, I appreciate that, but it's a no,' I think he would have told us that already. But I truly believe he's very seriously considering."

Officials previously with the Huntsman primary campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

Utahns will have to wait no later than Monday to find out.

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