McCain Holds Endorsement of Hopeful Huntsman

Arizona Sen. John McCain is holding back any endorsement of Ambassador to China and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman’s potential run for the GOP presidential nod, the Salt Lake Tribune reported Wednesday.

Huntsman was one of the first to endorse McCain’s presidential bid and helped raise a lot of money for his campaign.

"He's a fine man. A dear friend. A nice guy," McCain said Tuesday to the newspaper. "He was the very successful governor of a very conservative state."

When asked if Huntsman was too moderate because of his backing of civil unions and position on climate change, McCain answered: "Honestly, I was not involved that much in the issues and so I'm not sure. But I do know he was an extremely popular governor of a conservative state."

McCain said he doesn’t know if Huntsman will run.

Many of McCain’s former campaign staffers are now working on behalf of Huntsman, such as John Weaver, the senator’s top strategist. He’s now in the same role for Huntsman’s Horizon political action committee.