Were it not for Romney being in the field, Huntsman would be a far superior choice to any other candidate. His record of success is beyond that of any other candidate together with having incredibly high approval ratings as Governor of Utah. He's closer to middle, a moderate right person with the ability to move to whatever is most workable and desired by the electorate.
Being one of two exceptional candidates hides his high qualifications. But the fact that he has not become widely acknowledged and visible in the minds of the electorate puts him out of contention, in my opinion, for this election. I cannot imagine what fatal flaw would come up for Romney, as he is a "clean" candidate with the best character one can imagine.
Since he appears to stand no reasonable chance of being elected, this will be only brief. (And I would hope that he would join the administration to help build the strongest governing team ever built in US history.)
He won re-election in 2008 with nearly 78% of the vote. He maintained extremely high approval ratings as Governor of Utah hitting 90% approval at times.
In 2008, Utah was named the "Best Managed State in America".
Following his term as governor, Utah was also named a top 3 state to do business in.
"a conservative technocrat-optimist with moderate positions who was willing to work substantively with President Barack Obama" and identifies himself as a center-right conservative.
As the governor of Utah, Huntsman signed numerous bills restricting abortion, though he has indicated he will go with the public will and not go beyond those restrictions.
Huntsman has supported civil unions for years but not same-sex marriage. As Utah's Governor, he supported legislation that would have allowed civil unions for same-sex couples in the state.
He was CEO of a major corporation founded by his father - Read Jon Huntsman, Sr.'s book called Winners Never Cheat, as it is a seminal work on character, of which he is a living example in an outstanding way.
He was also Ambassador To China with the Obama administration, plus holding a number of of government and advisory positions.
