Florida governor’s former campaign manager joins Romney team

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By giving Wiles a title, Romney’s camp is tweaking Huntsman, who has been a relentless antagonist. That Team Mitt is even paying enough attention to Huntsman to essentially mock him is in its own way something of an honor. Romney, while taking on Rick Perry earlier this fall and more recently lighting into Newt Gingrich, has largely ignored his fellow Mormon.

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Sources familiar with Wiles’ thinking indicate that she’s signing up with Romney now because she’s concerned about Huntsman’s refusal to rule out running as a third-party candidate. Appearing at town hall meeting in New Hampshire over the weekend, where he’s staking his entire campaign, the former Utah governor again dodged the question.

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Of course, given the circumstances behind her departure it’s unlikely that Wiles would stlll be supporting her former boss’s candidacy, regardless of his third-party intentions. But with New Hampshire appearing ever more crucial to Romney’s hopes of winning the nomination, his camp wants to weaken Huntsman. Reminding Republicans that he’s open to the prospect of an independent run helps that cause. With Gingrich surging on the right, Romney now needs all the center-right votes he can get.