There are reports that former Utah Governor John Huntsman will withdraw from the race to win the nomination to be the Republican candidate for President of the United States.
Word is coming out of the GOP race that one of the candidates has decided to withdraw. Reports are that John Hunstman, the second Mormon and former Governor of Utah, will be withdrawing from the race to win the nomination to be the Republican candidate for President of United States of America and to run against Barack Obama.
USA Today is reporting that Huntsman has decided to withdraw, this despite the upcoming primary in South Carolina. Huntsman had a very strong showing in the recent New Hampshire primary race. Reports were that the momentum from that would propel him into a run in South Carolina.
Huntsman has never really led the pack. While other candidates such as Rick Perry, Michele Bachman, Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich have all taken their turn as the GOP front-runners, Huntsman has generally been at the back of the pack.
Huntsman took an interesting tactic early in the race. He spent very little time campaigning in Iowa and focused much of his time and effort in winning the New Hampshire primary. However, he ended up placing third in that race. When the results were tallied, Huntsman told his supporters that a third place finish was a win.
Huntsman has been an interesting candidate. Many disenfranchised Democrats have been approving of him. He has a strong stance about legalizing narcotics and has a moderate approach to many issues. Back during the crisis the raise the debt ceiling he criticized his opponents because many of them said they would have let the United States default.
Huntsman is a Mormon, similar to front-runner Mitt Romney. He also was the 16th Governor of the state of Utah. He is also a businessman and he also spent time working in the administrations of other Presidents. He spent time working as part of Ronald Reagan’s staff and also with George H.W. Bush.
The reports of his withdrawal have come from his campaign, which is currently in South Carolina. At this point, no further explanation as to why he has chosen this particular moment to withdraw has been given.
The race has been one of the most contentious on the conservative side. As the candidates head into South Carolina, which is known for the race being particularly vicious, there are still a large number of viable candidates. Many GOP supporters seem to be picking Romney as the best out of a field that they consider weak.
UPDATE: Reports are now that Huntsman will endorse front-runner candidate Mitt Romney.
UPDATE: Reports from Huntsman's campaign are that he will make his withdrawal official on Monday at a press conference scheduled for 11 a.m. Eastern Time.
Image source of John Huntsman: Wikipedia
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