On Jan. 16, five days before the S.C. primaries, former Utah Gov. and Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman Jr. announced the withdrawal of his campaign from the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

“Let’s invest our time and resources in building trust with the American people and uniting them around a common purpose,” Huntsman said in his withdrawal speech. “Ultimately, this election is about more than the future of one campaign or one party; it is about the future of our nation.”

Huntsman launched his campaign last June in N.J.’s Liberty Square Park—the same site where former President Ronald Reagan announced his bid for election in 1980. Although the New York Times ranked him as the candidate most likely to defeat President Barack Obama in a general election, Huntsman’s campaign failed to gain much traction. According to poll aggregate Real Clear Politics, Huntsman had the support of just three percent of likely primary voters nationwide.

Huntsman’s concession follows a disappointing finish in the N.H. primary, where, despite holding more than 170 campaign events, he placed a distant third behind former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney and Texas Rep. Ron Paul. Word of his dropping out coincided with an endorsement by The State, S.C.’s largest newspaper.

Huntsman announced that he would endorse Romney’s candidacy, claiming that Romney would stand the best chance of defeating Obama in November.

I believe it is now time for our party to unite around the candidate best equipped to defeat Barack Obama,” Huntsman said. “Despite our differences and the space between us on some of the issues, I believe that candidate is Gov. Mitt Romney.”

Liberal and conservative-leaning Staples students alike have expressed disappointment regarding Huntsman’s campaign withdrawal.

Kelly Cirillo ’13, a self-proclaimed Huntsman supporter, believes that the GOP has lost an incredible candidate.

“The fact that he had some bipartisan support was great, and his aims to fix divided government were truly inspiring,” Cirillo said. “Overall, I find Huntsman’s withdrawal very unfortunate.”

Some students, like Huntsman supporter Cole De Monico ’13, find that Huntman’s bowing out is a guarantee that Obama will win the general election in November.

“Time for four more years of ‘Robin Hood economics,’” De Monico said.

Cirillo does not think that Huntsman’s withdrawal is a guarantee of another general election victory for Obama, although she does agree that it puts the President in a “better position for victory” on Election Day.

Although Huntsman ran as a Republican candidate, he often held certain moderate and liberal views. Early in the campaign season, Huntsman made headlines by tweeting, “To be clear, I believe in evolution and trust scientists on global warming. Call me crazy.”

Because of his emphasis on civility and pragmatism, many of his supporters came from more moderate Republicans and independents. In New Hampshire, which allows Democrats and independents to vote in the Republican primary, Huntsman captured 22 percent of the independent vote and 40 percent of the Democratic vote.

“Heck,” Mike Holtz ’13 said, “I’m a Democrat and I would have voted for him.”

Holtz added that Huntsman possessed key qualities that made him a standout candidate in the Republican race.

“Huntsman is a conservative, no doubt, but he sees things from both sides. He is willing to compromise,” Holtz said. “Throughout the campaign, he kept things positive, and ran a civil and humane campaign. He was just a class act, a real class act, and it’s sad that he’s gone. From here, it really isn’t much of a race.”

Toward the end of his speech, Huntsman stressed the importance of unity, as he has repeatedly throughout his campaign: “In the end, we must all come together as Americans,” he said.

Although Huntsman is no longer an option as the 2012 Republican candidate, Holtz believes that he could easily stand a chance in the 2016 presidential election.

“If he stays in the political arena, he’s almost perfectly positioned for another presidential bid,” Holtz said. “Huntsman 2016?”

*Editor’s note: “Country First” was deleted from the original story headline