Huntsman Wins Over Students for Daniels

The Huffington Post reports:

When Students for Daniels found out that the Indiana governor was not going to run for the GOP presidential nomination, they turned their attention to deciding which former governor they would endorse as their second choice: Massachusetts' Mitt Romney, Minnesota's Tim Pawlenty or Utah's Jon Huntsman.

Romney eliminated himself by enthusiastically backing federal subsidies for ethanol production, said Max Eden, the 22-year-old Yale University graduate who helped co-found of the now 68-chapter-strong college political group.

When it came down to choosing between Pawlenty and Huntsman, they said it was the latter's focus on the national debt that helped them decide in his favor. That and the fact that most of the chapter chairs they contacted liked Huntsman the most, said 21-year-old Yale undergrad Michael Knowles, the other founder of Students for Daniels.

Ultimately, 38 of the 68 chapters united behind Huntsman, Knowles said. They couldn't reach others, and some wanted to wait to decide whom they would favor.

The $14 trillion national debt, Knowles said in a phone interview, is "the issue that's really going to affect our generation." And Huntsman is talking about the debt more frequently and directly, he said.

"[Pawlenty] seems like a fine candidate," Knowles said. "But in terms of the ways in which he speaks about the debt, I think Governor Huntsman is, all in all, a better candidate."