Huntsman is not the only possible presidential candidate with Utah ties. Former Salt Lake City Olympic leader Mitt Romney is widely viewed as a leading contender for the GOP nomination in four years, after his second-place finish for the party nod in 2008. Romney, who like Huntsman is a Mormon, won Utah's Republican primary last year with a whopping 90 percent of the vote.

Huntsman did not back Romney's presidential bid, instead supporting the party's eventual nominee, Arizona Sen. John McCain. Now McCain and his team appear to be returning the favor.

While Huntsman has yet to put together any sort of visible campaign structure, he has met with pollster and strategist Frank Luntz and has scheduled a telephone call with him Tuesday.

The governor also is getting advice from John Weaver, a former chief strategist to McCain with a colorful history. After serving as McCain's political director in the 2000 race, Weaver switched to the Democratic Party, then back to the GOP for McCain's 2008 run.

According to Atlantic Online, it was Weaver who helped recruit Huntsman to the McCain camp. And although Weaver left McCain's campaign during an upheaval in mid-2007, he helped McCain beat Romney in Florida by securing Florida Gov. Charlie Crist's endorsement.

Roskelley said Weaver and Huntsman don't have a formal relationship.

"The governor doesn't have any contracts and isn't paying anyone to consult or anything like that," she said. "Certainly, they talk politics. He's a longtime friend, but he's not hired as a consultant."

Huntsman has been left out of a new GOP organization created to help redefine the party, the National Council for a New America. Romney, however, is playing a big role in the new organization, suggesting he has the backing of the party faithful.

"That's one of the key questions, will Gov. Huntsman be a man too ahead of the times for the Republican Party. If so, he'll remain a bit of a voice in the wilderness," Jowers said. "I think Huntsman feels whether he's proven right by 2012 or 2016, he's on the right side of history."

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