In Utah, Jon Huntsman is Still 'Junior'

The presidential candidate still lives in his father's shadow, especially in his home state

Monday's New York Times has a lengthy feature on Jon Huntsman--not just the Republican presidential candidate and former ambassador to China, but also his father of the same name, who writer Sheryl Gay Stolberg reports paved the way for the younger Huntsman's political career. The Times story follows a NewsBeast look at Huntsman's father from June, which pointed out how he has helped plan and support his son's political career.

The Huntsman name is pretty much omnipresent in Utah, where Huntsman Jr. was governor and the elder is a fixture in the "intertwined" business and political worlds of the state, Stolberg reports. "There are Huntsman teacher awards, Huntsman sporting events, a Huntsman arena and the gleaming glass and granite Huntsman Cancer Institute, the crown jewel of the family’s philanthropy." And while the younger Huntsman served as governor and now aims to fill the highest office in the land, many still call him simply "Junior." The younger Huntsman sits "at the back of a crowded pack," among Republicans right now, but should he turn things around and win the 2012 election, it'll be funny to see whether his home-state nickname sticks in the White House.