Huntsman said economic development is "the heart and soul of everything we do," including coming up with the money to pay for education. Huntsman said if his economic development efforts fail, "then I fail, too."

There wasn't time to ask all of the questions chosen from hundreds submitted by the public. However, moderator Bruce Lindsay did squeeze in what he called a "lightning round," asking the candidates which living politician they admired who was not from their party.

That question momentarily stumped Huntsman, who came up with Norma Matheson, Utah's former first lady and his opponent's mother. Matheson offered Massachusetts' GOP Gov. Mitt Romney, who campaigned on a platform of bringing balance to that Democratic state.

Afterward, both candidates said they were pleased with their performance. Matheson said the questions asked were "excellent." But he said he wished he'd had more time to elaborate on his answers.

Huntsman, who leads the race in recent polls, said at this point in the campaign, "My only objective is to hold our ground. I think we succeeded."

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