Huntsman drops White House bid
Republican presidential hopeful Jon Huntsman drops out of the race for the White House, throwing his support behind Republican front-runner Mitt Romney.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) FORMER REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE JON HUNTSMAN, SAYING:
"Today, I am suspending my campaign for the presidency. I believe it is now time for our party to unite around the candidate best equipped to defeat Barack Obama. Despite our differences and the space between us on some of the issues, I believe that candidate is Governor Mitt Romney."
A moderate Republican, Huntsman lagged in opinion polls and finished third in last week's New Hampshire primary despite a huge campaigning effort there.
Ahead of a key primary in South Carolina, he was polling at less than 5 percent and he called on Republicans to come together.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) FORMER REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE JON HUNTSMAN, SAYING:
"This race has degenerated into an onslaught of negative and personal attacks not worthy of the American people and not worthy of this critical time in our nation's history. This is the most important election of our lifetime. This country desperately needs to begin a journey that will allow us to courageously tackle our two most urgent deficits, one is an economic deficit, the other is a trust deficit."
Huntsman served two terms as governor of Utah, he also served as President Barack Obama's ambassador to China.
Deborah Lutterbeck, Reuters
(SOUNDBITE) (English) FORMER REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE JON HUNTSMAN, SAYING:
"Today, I am suspending my campaign for the presidency. I believe it is now time for our party to unite around the candidate best equipped to defeat Barack Obama. Despite our differences and the space between us on some of the issues, I believe that candidate is Governor Mitt Romney."
A moderate Republican, Huntsman lagged in opinion polls and finished third in last week's New Hampshire primary despite a huge campaigning effort there.
Ahead of a key primary in South Carolina, he was polling at less than 5 percent and he called on Republicans to come together.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) FORMER REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE JON HUNTSMAN, SAYING:
"This race has degenerated into an onslaught of negative and personal attacks not worthy of the American people and not worthy of this critical time in our nation's history. This is the most important election of our lifetime. This country desperately needs to begin a journey that will allow us to courageously tackle our two most urgent deficits, one is an economic deficit, the other is a trust deficit."
Huntsman served two terms as governor of Utah, he also served as President Barack Obama's ambassador to China.
Deborah Lutterbeck, Reuters