The Boston Globe, the main newspaper in Massachusetts where Mitt Romney served as governor, has endorsed Jon Huntsman for the Republican presidential nomination.
Though the backing comes from a Democratic-leaning editorial board, the endorsement nonetheless provides a potentially major boost to the former Utah governor who has staked his candidacy on a high-ranking finish in New Hampshire.
Huntsman’s darkhorse candidacy could, once again, send the chaotic GOP race in a new direction if he scores well in a primary in which independents can prove pivotal.
With little money in his campaign account and poll numbers in the No. 3 or No. 4 position in New Hampshire, Huntsman – considered by many as the lone moderate in the race — hopes to emerge as the latest candidate to catch fire as the leading alternative to the frontrunner, Mitt Romney, much as Senator Rick Santorum did just before the Iowa caucuses.
According to The New York Times, it is the second time the Boston paper has snubbed its former homestate governor: In 2008, the Globe endorsed Sen. John McCain for the Republican nomination.
The major newspaper in New Hampshire, The Union Leader of Manchester, has endorsed Newt Gingrich, who has seen his candidacy slide in the polls in recent weeks.
