Michael Medved says his Mormonism won't count against him because Romney has cleared the way and the LDS has become much more mainstream. My own view is that Medved's strongest point is this one:
Huntsman will run as the most centrist of the major contenders, with positions on immigration, civil unions, the environment, and service in the Obama administration (as ambassador to China) that already make him anathema to many leaders of the conservative faith community. He counts instead on the less fervently religious Republicans and independents (who can vote in many key GOP primaries) and who, according to polls and history, are much less likely to harbor strident anti-Mormon attitudes.
Nate Silver agrees:
According to the most recent survey — from CBS News in August 2010 — just 37 percent of Republican voters hold the position that gay couples should have no legal recognition. Instead, 59 percent of Republicans supported either civil unions or gay marriage.
Huntsman is a reminder that moderate Republicanism can flourish – even in Utah, where he won re-election with 78 percent of the vote. Just don't expect to hear that on Fox. But I suspect he's really running for 2016. After the dust of the GOP's lurch to the loony right settles some more.
(Photo: Jon Huntsman, U.S. ambassador to China, speaks during an interview on the sidelines of the 2009 World Economic Forum Meeting of New Champions in Dalian, Liaoning province, China, on Friday, Sept. 11, 2009. By Nelson Ching/Bloomberg via Getty Images.)
The Dish 