Huntsman: 'We're going to surprise a lot of people'

EXETER, N.H. — Jon Huntsman Jr.'s final rally before Tuesday's primary election looked a lot like a victory party as red, white and blue confetti fell on the cheering crowd that filled this revolutionary town's historic town hall.

"Can you feel the energy?" the former Utah governor asked, his voice cracking after spending more than 12 hours Monday crisscrossing the state to meet with voters. "Something is happening out there."

Exactly what outcome Huntsman can hope for in the second test of candidates for the 2012 GOP nomination is not clear. He has moved up in the polls but appears to be competing for third place behind Mitt Romney and Ron Paul.

"I have no idea what it will be (Tuesday) night," Huntsman told several hundred supporters, volunteers and area residents filling the town hall's stage, floor and balconies. "But I do know this: We're going to surprise a lot of people."

Huntsman did, however, refer once in his rousing speech to "when we get to the end of the road, the White House," and talked of his campaign as a movement "that will take us all the way" just before the confetti fell and he plunged into the crowd.

Jay Childs, a documentary filmmaker from Exeter, said Huntsman is "the only one of the Republican candidates who I guess I respect."

Childs, an independent voter, said he liked Huntsman's message that the nation needs to pull together.

"The whole idea that we've lost the sense we're Americans, not just Republicans and Democrats, it sounds like a lot of 'kumbaya' stuff," he explained. "But to me it's more important than any policy."

In past races, Childs said he's supported both Republicans and Democrats.

"I don't agree with a lot of what Huntsman has to say," he said. "He's more conservative than I am. I'm not a liberal, but I'm willing to meet him halfway."

Independent voters such as Childs, who can register as Republicans before casting their primary ballots Tuesday, make up much of Huntsman's support. But University of New Hampshire political science professor Dante Scala said he needs mainstream Republicans, too.

"It would make the difference between a good night and a great night," Scala said. 

Unless more of the GOP faithful shift their support from the other candidates in the race, especially Romney, Scala said Huntsman may not have the momentum he needs to continue as a candidate.