• By
  • Jonathan Weisman


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Jon Huntsman Jr.


Some Republican strategists say the Huntsman family fortune, amassed through Mr. Huntsman’s father’s multi-national chemical conglomerate, could have been the former governor’s secret weapon. With the Republican field still in flux, Mr. Huntsman, President Barack Obama’s ambassador to China until this month, could have made the case that he would have the money to stay in the race until the end. That alone could have brought donors on board as the campaign stretched on and other, less well-financed candidates dropped out.

But as Mr. Huntsman considers a run, he has decided not to play that card, an aide confirmed Monday.

Mr. Huntsman’s personal wealth is not all that clear. Most of the family fortune still is in his father’s possession, and campaign finance laws and gift-tax laws would have created hurdles for large sums of money to pass from father to son.

It now looks as though Mr. Huntsman, should he run, will be more like former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina than former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, both of whom ran for high office in California last year. Ms. Whitman dumped millions of dollars of her own money into her campaign for governor. Ms. Fiorina largely held on to her stash in her quest for the Senate seat held by Democrat Barbara Boxer.

They both lost.



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