Republicans should unite to defeat Obama, says former Utah governor
Former Utah Gov. John Huntsman Jr. formally dropped out of the Republican presidential race on Monday morning, saying the contest had “degenerated into an onslaught of negative and personal attacks not worthy of the American people.” The moderate Republican threw his support behind front-runner Mitt Romney, in the week leading up to the crucial South Carolina primary. The endorsement, however, is not enough to secure Romney’s place in the GOP ballot for this year’s presidential election. Mitt Romney still faces challenges from conservatives Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich, and to a lesser extent Rick Perry and Ron Paul, all of whom stand much farther to the right than Romney. While offering his endorsement to Romney, Huntsman said he believed Republicans should “unite around the candidate best equipped to defeat Barack Obama.”