Presidential candidate Jon Huntsman: rock ’n’ roller

by Doug Sarti on June 22nd, 2011 at 1:02 PM

1 of 1 2 of 1

As the American 2012 presidential campaign begins to heat up, the Republican Party seems to be at no loss for candidates.

The latest, former Utah governor and Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman, announced his candidacy yesterday in New Jersey against the backdrop of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty.

A centrist who once said that “healthcare is a right”, worked in the Obama administration, and supported civil unions, Huntsman is an unconventional Republican.

A motocross rider and former Mormon missionary, Huntsman also dropped out of high school in the ”˜70s to play keyboard in a prog-rock band.

“My hair was Rod Stewart shaggy; I wouldn’t wear anything but super skinny jeans," Huntsman said during a commencement address at the University of South Carolina last month. "I ended up leaving high school a bit short of graduation to play with a band called Wizard. I thought it was my ticket to fame."

It doesn’t appear, however, that it was all sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll—at least for Huntsman.

“I never saw him inhale,” former bandmate Eric Malmquist told Politico.