Huntsman family money is now bipartisan

Seventeen years ago, when Jon Huntsman Jr. was 32 years old and relatively inexperienced, Sen. Paul Sarbanes, D-Md., grilled him about whether George H.W. Bush had nominated him as the youngest ambassador in a century (to Singapore) as a reward for big donations that his billionaire father gave Republicans.

Now, few inside national politics look at the extended Huntsman family as big donors just to Republicans. In fact, in last year's elections, the family gave twice as much to Democrats as the GOP.

No one, of course, is questioning whether Huntsman, a two-time ambassador and a Republican Utah governor who speaks Mandarin, was nominated now as ambassador to China by Democratic President Barack Obama as a reward for his family's donations to Democrats.

But it shows the extended family has become more bipartisan than many may realize.

It may also have helped open doors for some key Democrats to help with the new nomination, as well as help family patriarch Jon Huntsman Sr. in his drive for more government funding to fight cancer.

During the 2008 election cycle, members of Huntsman's extended family (parents, siblings and children) gave at least $160,800 to Democratic federal party groups and candidates. It gave only about half as much — $87,600 — to Republicans, according to a Deseret News analysis of Federal Election Commission records.

The governor and his wife and children donated only to Republicans, not surprisingly. But not his parents and siblings.

His parents — Jon Huntsman Sr. (billionaire founder of Huntsman Chemical) and Karen Huntsman, who stood near their son when Obama announced his nomination — gave $40,400 each to Democrats during the 2008 election cycle.

Each of them gave $28,500 to the Democratic Senatorial Committee, which helped elect the Democratic senators who will now largely determine whether to confirm their son.

They also gave $5,000 each to the Democratic Party of Nevada (home of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid); $4,600 each to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont.; and $2,300 each to House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel, D-N.Y.

They gave slightly less to Republicans. Jon Huntsman Sr. gave them at least $37,700 and Karen Huntsman gave at least $39,000.