If soon-to-be former China Ambassador Jon Huntsman were to jump into the 2012 presidential race (as many expect he will), Mormon Republicans would more than likely find themselves with two candidates from their faith on the ballot: Huntsman, the former governor of Utah, and Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts.
In Mormon-heavy Utah, one early poll shows that Romney has the edge. Though Huntsman held the state’s highest elective office from 2005 until 2009, when President Obama tapped him to be Ambassador to China, the new poll shows voters there prefer Romney as their presidential nominee by 20 points.
The poll, conducted Jan. 15 by the University of Utah, has Romney leading Huntsman in a head-to-head Republican presidential nomination matchup by a margin of 48-28.
“Mitt Romney is still the favorite son among Utahns,” writes Bryan Schott of Utah Policy, which sponsored the poll.
The poll was taken before Huntsman decided to quit his ambassadorship, which many think will be the first step toward a presidential run. While he’s been in China, Huntsman has not openly engaged in political activity, while Romney has been barnstorming the country pushing the paperback edition of his book and generally being coy about whether or not he’ll take a second run at White House. If Huntsman mounts a serious run, however, the campaign boost to his public image could raise his support in his home state.
Politico‘s Jonathan Martin delved into the implications of Romney and Huntsman squaring off, however, and writes that among Mormon voters, Huntsman may have a tough time taking on Romney:
There is another tension that could play out in uncomfortable ways between Romney, the devout Mormon who has organized his life around his faith, and Huntsman, a more secularized figure who is open about his distance from his church.
In Utah, the state that follows the pair more closely than any other, the distinctions between the two are obvious.
One Utahn put it this way: Romney is Brigham Young University, Huntsman is the University of Utah.
The Utah Policy poll surveyed 504 voters and has a margin of error of 4.5%
