Huntsman leaves door open for another presidential run

MANCHESTER, N.H., Nov. 26 (UPI) -- Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, who ran for the Republican U.S. presidential nomination in 2012, suggested he might run again but said he is not a candidate yet.

Huntsman was one of a crowded field of GOP hopefuls for 2012, and one of the first to drop out of the race, suspending his campaign early in 2012 after finishing third in the New Hampshire primary.

During an appearance Monday at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, Huntsman was asked whether he will run again.

"I love public service. I'll always be committed to public service," he said. "And as an itinerant public servant from time to time it's hard to know where you're going to wind up. But I'm not here as a candidate tonight, that's for sure."

Huntsman -- who also served as U.S. ambassador to China -- acknowledged "you probably have to be a little crazy to run the first time," but said people in public service have an inclination to "find [their] place in the marketplace of ideas."