Jon Huntsman. (Phillipe Lopez, AFP / Getty Images)
Is Jon Huntsman’s campaign moving into Newt Gingrich territory? David Fischer, a friend of Huntsman’s since they worked together for Ronald Reagan and a former executive at Huntsman’s father’s company, tells Politico that Huntsman’s campaign is a sinking ship and that chief strategist John Weaver is to blame. According to Fischer, at least four aides have quit after clashes with Weaver, and both Huntsman’s wife and father are concerned about the campaign’s direction. He also says Weaver has kept the staff so small that Huntsman does not even have a policy director, relying instead on white papers from the American Enterprise Institute. Huntsman’s campaign denied Fischer’s claims and said that, as a volunteer member, he sought to “usurp authority.”