Huntsman to Officially Unveil Presidential Campaign on June 21
Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman will officially announce he's running for president June 21 near the Statue of Liberty, the Associated Press reports. Huntsman has been feeling out a potential 2012 campaign in the weeks since he left his spot as President Obama's ambassador to China, but he skipped Monday night's Republican primary debate. Still, he's considered one of the biggest threats facing President Obama's reelection campaign, along with Tim Pawlenty and Mitt Romney.
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Update: Ryan Lizza notes that Liberty Park, New Jersey, is the site of Ronald Reagan's 1980 campaign kickoff. ("Wonder if any modern presidential candidate could ever look as cool as Reagan did at his Jersey announcement," Lizza tweets.") Reagan said he picked that spot "because it's the home of Democrats," and there are millions of Democrats "who are just as unhappy with the way things are as all the rest of us are."
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But Politico's Maggie Haberman notes that the park was home to a more recent campaign announcement: Steve Levy, who switch parties to run for New York governor as a Republican in 2010. Levy and Huntsman have at least one thing in common: John Weaver, the Republican strategist and veteran of McCain's 2008 campaign.
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Video of Reagan's 1980 speech:
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