Huntsman’s wife speaks to Columbia Republican women

Mary Kaye Huntsman spoke to a group of about 50 Midlands Republican women Tuesday night urging them not to give up on her husband, Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman, even as he trails in the most recent national polls.

Huntsman spoke in Columbia on the last day of her two-day trip to South Carolina that included stops in Spartanburg and Charleston. Her trip coincided with Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann, who appeared Tuesday in Spartanburg and has a rally planned for Columbia on Thursday.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who announced his candidacy Saturday in Charleston, will speak to Republican donors in Columbia on Friday.

Huntsman called South Carolina “extremely important” to her husband’s campaign, saying this was her fourth trip to the state since her husband announced his candidacy in June. During her speech, she stressed her husband’s foreign policy experience, including his stints as ambassador to Singapore and China

“I feel like a lot of people don’t know who he is,” Huntsman said in an interview after her speech. “I feel like he is the most undervalued stock out there.”