Huntsman's 'Ticket To Ride' Ends In South Carolina

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep. Renee Montagne is back after some time off. Renee, welcome back.

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Oh, well, thanks. Glad to be back, Steve.

INSKEEP: And you're back just in time for the South Carolina primary. Welcome.

MONTAGNE: And just in time for some changes in that race. Conservative voters remain split, as many know, between several candidates. But one of those contenders got quite a boost over the weekend. Evangelical leaders met and endorsed former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum.

INSKEEP: And we'll hear more about that in a moment. First, Mitt Romney scores an endorsement today from one of his former rivals: Jon Huntsman, who's dropping out of the race.

He's making that announcement today, we're expecting. The former Utah governor put much of his campaign resources into New Hampshire - in fact, virtually all, but he finished third. NPR's Tamara Keith reports on the man who tried not to run as a typical candidate.

TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE: Of all leading GOP hopefuls, Huntsman is the only one who never even briefly surged to second place. He peaked in New Hampshire, where he had spent almost all of his time, for months. He even appeared on "Saturday Night Live" to joke about his apparent obsession with the Granite State.

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KEITH: But all that campaigning didn't exactly pay off on primary night.

: I'd say third place is a ticket to ride, ladies and gentlemen.

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: Hello, South Carolina.

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KEITH: As we now know, South Carolina is where Huntsman's ride ends.

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KEITH: It all started back in June, with a series of Web videos showing the candidate riding a dirt bike through the Utah desert, with this slightly twangy music in the background. In white lettering on the screen of the last video, it said: Tomorrow, the candidate for president who rides motocross to relax. From there, Republican political consultant Rob Stutzman says Huntsman's messaging didn't really improve.

ROB STUTZMAN: I think he'll be remembered as that nice, interesting, smart guy that never had anything to say, other than elect me because I can be more civil, which is not exactly the winning message in a Republican presidential primary.

KEITH: Stutzman says GOP primary voters are angry at the president, and Huntsman didn't give them any red meat. In fact, Huntsman had just come off a stint as ambassador to China. He had been a part of the Obama administration. And then there were the ever-important debates.

STUTZMAN: His debate performances were uneven. At times, he gave very interesting, insightful answers, and then at times, he seemed to be telling inside jokes.

KEITH: Here are just a couple of examples. First, from the Bloomberg debate in October.

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KEITH: And this CNN debate in September.

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KEITH: Yes, that was a reference to the grunge band Nirvana and its song "All Apologies." Barely anyone got it that night, either. At other moments in the debates, Huntsman made comments that seemed targeted more at moderates and Democrats than the primary voters he would need to win the nomination.

This is him at a Politico NBC News debate in September.

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KEITH: Unfortunately for Huntsman, arguments like that never helped him gain traction with the people who were actually voting.

Tamara Keith, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.