Huntsman Team Launches Recruitment Drive

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Jon Huntsman's campaign for president has rolled out a Conservatives for Huntsman drive. Campaign Manager Susie Wiles writes, "Our goal is to identify 5,000 conservative leaders from across the nation who are 100% committed to supporting Governor Huntsman in his campaign to defeat President Obama. As a Conservatives for Huntsman Leader we will call on you to recruit others to our team. We need to reach this goal in 5 days."

A link takes readers to a Petition of Support where folks are asked to share name and e-mail address info and check-off if they are willing to e-mail friends as well as post about the campaign on Facebook and Twitter. Wiles signs off with "... help recruit others as soon as possible. Time is of the essence."

Huntsman campaign spokesman Tim Miller explains, "We're organizing a grassroots campaign across the country, folks who want to support Jon Huntsman and are encouraged by his record." Asked for more on what petition signers would be doing, Miller said, "The petition signers are just going to be helping us spread the message about Jon Huntsman and Jon Huntsman's conservative track record and his vision for what it takes to turn the country around."

Huntsman is traveling to Utah where he served two terms as governor. The schedule has not been released yet, but Miller says he's expected to talk with local business leaders during the Friday-Saturday visit. A motorcycle ride has already been publicized.

The trip comes at the same time as the National Governors Association (NGA) 2011 Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City, which Huntsman worked to bring to the Beehive state. Miller said Huntsman is "thrilled that they came to his home state." The gathering will have a China component which is timely considering Huntsman wrapped up his post as U.S. Ambassador to China less than three months ago. The NGA agenda includes a U.S.-China Governors Forum. Also, the U.S. & China Trade, Culture & Education Conference 2011 will be going on at the same time nearby.

Huntsman is not formally participating in the NGA gathering, but he does plan to meet privately with some governors who will be in town. The campaign declined to say which ones. No other declared presidential candidates are expected at the NGA meeting.