SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Jon Huntsman's record in one of the country's most Republican states presents him with a challenge as he moves toward a run for the GOP presidential nomination.
The former Utah governor must strike a balance between emphasizing fiscally conservative policies likely to attract GOP primary voters and explaining other policies certain to repel them.
Conservatives who dominate the primaries will applaud a statewide flat tax, business incentives and private school vouchers in Utah.
But they probably will cringe at other policies. Those include Huntsman's support of cap and trade as a response to climate change, his backing of civil unions for gay couples, and his support for in-state tuition for illegal immigrants.
Huntsman is returning to Utah this weekend for the first time since stepping down as ambassador to China.
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