Utah guv: Don’t count out McCain yet

Republican presidential candidate John McCain may be trailing Democratic opponent Barack Obama in the polls right now, but don’t be surprised if McCain surges in the last three weeks of the race.

At least that’s the message of Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, who was in Farmington today to campaign on behalf of McCain.

“One thing I’ve learned about John McCain, and having been with him from the very beginning… is that you never bet against John McCain. He’s been counted out time and time again,” Huntsman said in a telephone interview. “He’s a fighter, and when he says this is where he likes to be… that’s because this is exactly where he’s most comfortable.”

Huntsman held a get-out-the-vote rally at the Farmington Civic Center and met with McCain volunteers today. In talking with McCain supporters, he said he found that “there’s a lot of hopefulness that there will be a reliable McCain surge in the last three weeks of the campaign.” He cited the economic message McCain unveiled this week, which the governor characterized as being “about the focus on Main Street as opposed to Wall Street, and the focus on entrepreneurship.”

The state Huntsman leads is surrounded by three battlegrounds in the presidential race — New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada. Though today’s was Huntsman’s first visit to the Land of Enchantment to campaign for McCain, he said he has now visited every Western state and several others to campaign for the Arizona senator.

Huntsman said he’s optimistic about McCain’s chances in the three Western states that will help decide the election. He said McCain and Sarah Palin make up “the quintessential Western ticket” and said McCain is able to speak the language of the West. It’s critical to elect leaders from the West, he said, because it’s a region that is “more relevant than ever before” and one that is growing, changing and innovating for the future.

“The West is going to set the agenda for the United States for the next generation,” Huntsman said.