Poll: Jon who? Huntsman lacks name ID

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Jon Huntsman Jr. has a lot of work to do if he decides to jump into the field of presidential wannabes. Huntsman, a former Utah governor and the outgoing U.S. ambassador to China, has some 21 percent name recognition nationally among Republicans, according to a new Gallup poll released Wednesday.

Huntsman ranks on the lower end of potential presidential candidates while possible contenders Sarah Palin (97 percent name recognition with GOPers), Mike Huckabee (89 percent), New Gingrich (86 percent) and Mitt Romney (83 percent) round out the top.

Tim Pawlenty, who made a media splash this week by becoming the first major candidate to form a presidential exploratory committee, chimes in at 41 percent name recognition.

But Huntsman can take heart in that he wasn't on the bottom. That honor falls to Gary Johnson, who, if you weren't aware, is a former New Mexico governor also considering a White House bid.

The same poll also asked whether Republicans surveyed had a positive or negative impression of that person. Huntsman actually dropped in positive recognition by two points from a few weeks earlier, but that's within the margin of error. — Thomas BurrTwitter.com/thomaswburr