The decision comes the day he received the endorsement of The State, Columbia, SC’s newspaper, and nearly a week after finishing third in New Hampshire- a state where his campaign focused as a pivotal launch pad for his bid.
Huntsman appears to have received little if any boost from New Hampshire, still placing at the bottom of most national and South Carolina polls in the low single digits.
Matt David, a spokesman for Huntsman, told the New York Times, that Huntsman will endorse Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.
Huntsman, a former two-term governor of Utah, formally entered the presidential race in June well after many of his GOP rivals like Romney who had already formed campaign organizations and fundraising networks. His resignation as President Obama‘s first ambassador to China became effective in late April. His stint in the Obama administration was viewed skeptically by some voters, but Huntsman defended it as service to the country.
From the beginning, Huntsman had vowed to be a different kind of candidate – from his early videos highlighting his love of motorcycle riding to his demeanor in the GOP debates as the adult in the room.
But as the campaign developed, Huntsman began drawing sharper contrasts with his rivals, especially Romney.
When the GOP front-runner said before the New Hampshire primary that he liked “being able to fire people” – a comment that was taken out of context during remarks on health care – Huntsman responded that it indicated his opponent is “slightly out of touch with the economic reality playing out in America right now, and that’s a dangerous place for somebody to be.”
Source: USA Today.
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