Presidential candidate Jon Huntsman woke up feeling under the weather on Wednesday — the day of the Politico/NBC News debate at the Ronald Reagan Library. The former Utah governor and ambassador to China has a sinus infection, according to his spokesperson, Tim Miller.
The infection, Miller told The Daily Caller, is “affecting his [Huntsman’s] voice.”
But don’t count Huntsman out, Miller assured: “He’s going to rest up for the remainder of the day and be ready for the debate tonight.”
Huntsman acknowledged the cold during a phone interview with MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell. Before talking about the details of his jobs plan, he joked that “my wife tells me I always sound better as a bass, not a baritone.”
Wednesday night’s debate is an important one for Huntsman, whose first debate performance in August was described by some as lackluster. Since then, his poll numbers have continued to keep him at the bottom of the pack in the GOP field.
But Huntsman’s said he’s not too worried. (RELATED: In search of Jon Huntsman supporters)
“I want to be a rising star, not a shooting star,” he told Mitchell, noting that the race so far has seen a number of top candidates. “Shooting stars die out. This is a very fluid situation.”
“We shouldn’t be too quick to draw any conclusions in this race,” Huntsman added.
Before signing off, Huntsman called the 2012 presidential election the “most important in my lifetime, maybe ever since the Great Depression.”
Follow Amanda on Twitter.