Huntsman placed third in the New Hampshire primary in January, then dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed Mitt Romney.
According to the Tribune, he is skipping the convention because he feels the party has become too narrow and divisive. "I will not be attending this year's convention, nor any Republican convention in the future, until the party focuses on a bigger, bolder, more confident future for the United States — a future based on problem solving, inclusiveness, and a willingness to address the trust deficit, which is every bit as corrosive as our fiscal and economic deficits," he told the paper.
Huntsman is the first of the vanquished GOP contenders to say he will not attend the convention, though many candidates from both parties have said they will not attend the conventions because they want to stay home and continue talking to their constituents. Earlier this week, Virginia Senate candidate George Allen said he would also skip the GOP gathering, following a stream of high profile Democrats who did the same.
Last month, Rep. Steve Israel, head of the House campaign arm of the Democratic Party, said it would make sense for Democratic candidates to skip going to Charlotte, N.C., for the party's national convention. "If they want to win an election, they need to be in their district," he said.
But Huntsman's decision seems to be more about an ideological concern with the GOP. A former Utah governor, Huntsman told the Tribune, "I encourage a return to the party we have been in the past, from Lincoln right on through to Reagan, that was always willing to put our country before politics."
