Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. warned Friday of the "psychological impact" of negative economic news on the spending habits of Utahns, although the state's financial picture won't ever be as bleak as for most of the rest of the country.

Huntsman said job growth, for example, could drop to as low as 1 percent. At the same time, though, "probably 45 of the 50 states are going to be in negative territory," he said during his monthly news conference on KUED Channel 7. Last year's job growth in Utah was at 4 percent, compared to 1.3 percent nationally.

"That's not to say we're going to be perfect. We're experiencing some tough times, and our job, during this period, will be to continue to keep our foot on the gas pedal, to promote our state, to develop the economy," the governor said.

Huntsman also said he intends to serve out a second term if he's re-elected this November — even if fellow Republican John McCain becomes president, brushing off a question about whether a vote for McCain was also a vote to send him back to Washington, D.C.

"A vote for John McCain is a vote for John McCain, and to suggest I might not be around is to suggest John McCain might win the election, which, I think for a lot of people is good news, but I'm running for re-election," Huntsman said.

Asked if he would commit to serving out an entire second term even if there was a spot for him in a GOP administration, Huntsman said, "I'm not going to talk hypotheticals. It's my every intention to run, to be re-elected and to serve out" a second term.

Huntsman helped host a fundraiser for McCain in Salt Lake City on Thursday and has been mentioned as a possible running rate for the Arizona senator. There has also been speculation Huntsman could be tapped to serve other roles in a McCain administration.

The governor, an early supporter of McCain, is heavily favored to win re-election. The latest Deseret Morning News/KSL-TV poll found that 77 percent of registered voters would cast their ballot for Huntsman if the election were held now.

He said he also expects significant progress to be made by a new legislative task force on health-care reform. Otherwise he will call lawmakers back into special session to "to see if we're actually hitting the mark and getting to where we need to be by November."

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