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@Jon2012girls: Pin-up calendar or social media strategy?

There's at least one good reason to endorse GOP candidate Jon Huntsman, and it has nothing to do with his politics. 

 

Lauren Rae Orsini

Tech

Posted on Nov 28, 2011   Updated on Jun 3, 2021, 12:55 am CDT

Gorgeous young women make it easier to sell all sorts of goods and services. Why not presidential candidates, too?

Conservative presidential candidate Jon Huntsman’s has his three oldest daughters to thank for his growing renown. Twentysomethings Liddy, Abby, and Mary have commandeered Huntsman’s social-media direction with their mutual Twitter handle, @Jon2012girls.

Following their stream is like reading the script to some yet-to-be-written romantic comedy, full of tasteful music suggestions (Blaze Foley no less) and sideline cheerleading.

“Girls at the famous wall backstage at SNL! Dad did such a great job with @sethmeyers21 on weekend update!” the threesome tweeted on Nov. 19.

Those girl-next-door tweets (and frequent photos of their pretty faces) have brought their father further into the national spotlight. The Daily Dot previously reported that the girls had 5,000 Twitter followers. A month later, they’re up to 15,000.

Ironically, that’s nearly three times more than their father, who has just 6,000 followers. The trend continues on Google: People search using the key phrase “Jon Huntsman daughters” three times more often than “Jon Huntsman.” (We can only assume the rates are even higher for Google image searches.)

Moreover, the girls have also been getting more press than their pops. Their good-natured spoof on a Herman Cain campaign video received coverage in the Washington Post and the New York Times after the Daily Dot covered it.

They’ve even got a trio of ardent admirers in @Jon2012boys. Billing themselves as “Jon Huntsman’s Sons-in-law,” these Lotharios would like nothing more than a date with the three Huntsman girls. This parody account has gained 600 followers as Twitter users wait for an oft-promised first date between the six.

Liddy, Abby, and Mary aren’t the only presidential candidate’s children to take the social media reins. Mitt Romney’s son, Tagg (@tromney), has been following suit. However, the young man doesn’t offer much to his 1,200-plus followers, with only 82 posts to date.

Presidents have long based campaigns on family values. Lucky for Huntsman, his daughters happen to not only be social-media savvy, but easy on the eyes too.

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*First Published: Nov 28, 2011, 2:21 pm CST