Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman won’t serve a third term after losing his Republican gubernatorial primary to Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox.
Huntsman, 60, would’ve been Utah’s first governor to hold office for nonconsecutive periods of time, but he failed to keep pace with Cox, 44, in their close race.
Cox’s bid was boosted by incumbent Gov. Gary Herbert’s endorsement and Cox’s high-profile role in Utah’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Huntsman, meanwhile, was sidelined after he contracted the illness.
Huntsman’s defeat closes this chapter in his public life.
Huntsman was Utah’s governor from 2005 to 2009 before he was nominated to become President Barack Obama’s ambassador to China. He worked as part of the Obama administration until 2011 when he left to campaign unsuccessfully for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination.
Formerly President George H.W. Bush’s top Singapore diplomat from 1992 to 1993, Huntsman then agreed to join President Trump’s administration as chief envoy to Russia in 2017. He left his post in 2019 to return to Utah.
