Huntsman's Youth Appeal

Stephen Richer writes in the Salt Lake Tribune:

Young voters across the country should be anticipating the possible presidential campaign of former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman. He’s one of the few Republican candidates that they might actually like.

In a survey recently conducted by RK Research, college students voiced strong dissatisfaction with the Republican Party’s performance on gay rights and the environment, but gave the Republican Party comparatively high marks on issues such as business-friendly environment, size of government and taxes.

It’s this type of Republicanism that Huntsman can speak to.

As governor, Huntsman put the economy at the top of his agenda. He cut taxes by $225 million, and he brought new businesses to the state. As a result, Forbes recently called Utah the best state in the country for business and careers. Utah’s economy has expanded by 3.5 percent over the past five years; Utah ranks fourth best in the country in terms of unemployment (5.7 percent compared to Nevada’s 12 percent); and only 9.7 percent of Utahns live below the poverty line (national average is 13 percent).

This certainly has appeal to college students who regularly see statistics that suggest that adult men 20-24 years old are working at historically low rates.

Concerning the dissatisfactions of college students, Huntsman has proven distinct from many rank-and-file Republicans. In Utah, he parted ways with many local Republicans by liberalizing the state’s extremely strict liquor laws. On the national level, Huntsman was one of the first among prominent Republicans to support civil unions for gay Americans, recognizing the need to encourage family structures. ...

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