Huntsman To Drop Out, Endorse Romney Tomorrow

Campaign aides say Huntsman doesn’t want to stand in the way of the candidate with the best shot of beating Obama.

Republican presidential candidate former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman departs the Huckabee Forum 2, a televised event, in Charleston, South Carolina, January 14, 2012. The South Carolina Primary will be held on January 21.

Image by JASON REED / Reuters

MYRTLE BEACH, South Carolina—Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman will drop out of race for the Republican presidential nomination tomorrow, and will endorse Mitt Romney, a campaign aide told BuzzFeed.

Huntsman did not want to stand in the way of the candidate most likely to defeat President Barack Obama, the aide said, adding that the endorsement will take place tomorrow at 11 a.m.

Huntsman had criticized Romney as having “no core” throughout the contentious New Hampshire primary. Huntsman placed third in that race, despite devoting nearly all his campaign’s resources to the Granite State.

The campaign’s staff had been growing restless in recent days, with one staffer telling BuzzFeed last week that “we’re not going to quit, but we don’t really want to keep going either.”

As late as Sunday afternoon, Huntsman’s campaign claimed to be “surging” in the Palmetto state.