2012 Watch: Romney would beat Huntsman in Utah

If Gov. Jon Huntsman (R-Utah) runs for President, he’s got at least one important voting bloc to win over: his own constituents.

A new poll shows that Utahans would prefer Mitt Romney to Huntsman if both men ran. Romney is immensely popular in the state. He ran the Salt Lake Olympics, lived in the state from 1999 to 2002 and shares a Mormon faith with a large portion of state residents.

55% of Utahan would vote for Romney, comared to just 24% who’d choose Huntsman, according to a poll for KSLTV. The poll sampled Utahans of all party affiliations, however. If Huntsman does face off against Romney, he’ll only have to win over Republicans.

Both would beat President Obama by wide margin, but Romney would be the stronger candidate. Romney would defeat Obama 67%-24% in a hypothetical matchup, while Huntsman leads the President 58%-25%.