From Exeter, New Hampshire -
One of the new ingredients in today's New Hampshire Republican Primary is former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, who has spent months in the Granite State, asking voters to help him spin an upset.
"Can you feel a little bit of momentum in the air?" asked an excited Huntsman in a rally at the Exeter Town Hall, where Huntsman first asked state voters to consider him for the White House back in June of 2011.
"We're going to surprise a lot of people," said the ever-optimistic Huntsman.
The polls are divided on whether Huntsman is enjoying a surge right now in New Hampshire - some show him moving up on Ron Paul in second, others have him well behind.
"I'm a shameless salesman at this point; I'm asking everyone for their vote," Huntsman told the crowd, describing how he had been in a bakery and even picked up the phone to convince one voter to back him.
If Huntsman fails to finish a strong second place, there will likely be big questions for him - but if he can play the role of Rick Santorum here in New Hampshire, that could give Huntsman a boost in South Carolina and Florida.
Huntsman has been the different character in the GOP field this year, never seeming to fit in, but coming up with flashes of hope for some in his own party.
Still, he hasn't caught on - and there's not much time left to hit the jackpot.
"We're going to surprise the world!" Huntsman said to cheers at his event in Exeter, as he urged backers to ferry their friends to the polls.
"Let's go to work!" Huntsman said to a roar from the crowd.
Unlike some other events that I've covered in Iowa and New Hampshire, this one left me with a sense that Huntsman supporters might have a little wind in their sails.
Four years ago, the polls were dead wrong about the race between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton here in New Hampshire.
We'll see if they've been right about the Republicans in 2012.
