Jon Huntsman Jr. tests positive for COVID-19 (original) (raw)

SALT LAKE CITY — Former Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. said Wednesday he’s tested positive for COVID-19.

One of four Republican candidates for governor on the June 30 primary ballot, Huntsman tweeted he has “been experiencing classic symptoms ... like so many others, my goal is to keep my family safe. Though isolated temporarily, we’ve never been more energized in this important race for Governor. The work goes on!”

In a 3-minute video released shortly before noon, Huntsman said he is in isolation but his campaign continues.

“We have been supercharged through this like nothing else and our resolve is as high as ever,” the twice-elected governor said, adding that now, a total of six campaign staffers have also tested positive but are “all doing well. They’re taking care of themselves. They’re all in isolation. We’re working remotely.”

Wearing a red shirt and standing in front of a desk, Huntsman said, “We haven’t missed a beat and we won’t miss a beat.”

He had tested negative for the novel coronavirus shortly before a gubernatorial candidate forum last month, and was tested again last Friday after a staffer was confirmed to have the disease. He was initially notified his results were negative, then told that it was the “wrong” result, and later, that his test sample had been destroyed.

Huntsman sought another test Tuesday. His family members were also being tested for COVID-19. His daughter, Abby Huntsman, who left as a host of ABC’s “The View” to help with her father’s campaign, tweeted Wednesday she had tested negative for the virus but planned to be tested again.

“What a week it’s been for our family. My test from last week finally came back negative, but will go back for another test today after living in the same house as my dad. Hoping the state can figure out its testing complications as this is too important to get wrong!” she said in the tweet.

Abby Huntsman, along with her husband; her sister, Liddy, a Type 1 diabetic;and their five children, are staying with the Huntsmans. She told KSL Newsradio’s Lee Lonsberry Wednesday that the family has “a positive attitude. We keep going. My dad’s not feeling so hot at the moment but he’s never been more energized for this race.”

But Abby Huntsman also said she hopes others don’t face the same testing issues as her father encountered.

“You get a test back and it says that you’re negative, which is what happened with my dad, and so you roam the house for two days thinking that you’re fine. Then come to find it’s the wrong test and the test they took was opened and contaminated so they had to throw that out,” she said.

She said while she wasn’t “pointing fingers at anybody, I do think there are some questions, though, to be asked.”

Jon Huntsman Jr. said in the video “the level of uncertainty and anxiety is very real and we’re still waiting for some tests that are pending on some family members, including one who is in more a high-risk category.” He said he’s watching out “first and foremost” for his family’s health but is also thinking of others with COVID-19.

Four others on the Huntsman campaign, including his campaign manager, Lisa Roskelley, have tested negative, while two additional staffers previously had tested positive. Huntsman’s running mate, Provo Mayor Michelle Kaufusi, had not been sufficiently exposed to the infected staffer to warrant a test, according to the campaign.

Huntsman had halted personal appearances and had been campaigning from home since learning of the staffer testing positive. The campaign’s Salt Lake City headquarters was also shut down for cleaning but has since reopened.

Also running for the GOP nomination in the governor’s race are Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox, former Utah House Speaker Greg Hughes and former Utah GOP Chairman Thomas Wright. GOP Gov. Gary Herbert, who was Huntsman’s lieutenant governor, is not seeking reelection after more than a decade in office.

Wright’s campaign also has been hit by the virus.

A campaign staffer who was working remotely tested positive Monday and has been in quarantine, as is the only other staff member he came in contact with, Wright said Wednesday, while a volunteer who also had contact with the infected staffer has been notified of the test results.

“Since the beginning of this crisis, our campaign has been vigilant in tracking exposure to COVID-19 and implementing a response plan,” Wright said. “Two weeks ago, while working remotely, one of our campaign staffers was exposed to the virus after his father, who is a first responder, contracted COVID-19.”

He said the staffer has been quarantined since the campaign heard about his father.

“We want to express our love and support for everyone suffering during this pandemic including our campaign staff member and his father. We wish them both a speedy recovery,” Wright said. He also said he hopes Huntsman “recovers quickly and that his family is able to stay safe.”

Cox, who heads the state’s response to the coronavirus, tweeted, “Devastated to hear that @JonHuntsman has tested positive for Covid-19. Abby and I are praying for you and your family and that you will make a quick and full recovery.”

His campaign manager, Austin Cox, said, “No one on our campaign has contracted COVID. Spencer (and the campaign) is and has been taking the necessary precautions and following state guidelines. He regularly wears a mask and the campaign has adapted the way we conduct events.”

Hughes’ campaign manager, Greg Hartley, said, “We wish Gov. Huntsman and his campaign staff the best and hope for a safe and quick recovery for all of them.” Hartley said as far as he is aware, nobody on Hughes’ campaign has had symptoms or been tested for the coronavirus.

“We aren’t taking any extra precautions. We encourage our team to wash their hands often, to try and avoid touching their face, carry hand sanitizer and let them decide whether they’d like to work remotely or in the office,” Hartley said, adding the office is regularly cleaned and disinfected.

Hughes, who has declared he will not wear a mask, does carry hand sanitizer and uses a copper device to avoid touching door handles, Hartley said, adding that the campaign office has a digital thermometer “and masks if people choose to use them.”

Huntsman stepped down from the office in 2009 after winning a second term as governor to serve as U.S. ambassador to China under President Barack Obama, and later, ran for president. Most recently, he was U.S. ambassador to Russia under President Donald Trump.

The first and most important reactions Utahns are likely to have to the news about Huntsman is concern for the former governor’s health, said Chris Karpowitz, co-director of Brigham Young University’s Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy.

“On a practical level, being quarantined while he recovers makes it more challenging to communicate with voters, and the in-person work will have to be done by Michelle Kaufusi and other campaign staffers,” Karpowitz said, calling Huntsman’s health concerns a “significant challenge,” especially as ballots are now being mailed to voters.

What’s not clear is how the situation will affect votes, the political science professor said.

“Perhaps a successful fight against this illness increases compassion and care for Jon Huntsman or perhaps the fact of the illness will cause voters to turn to other candidates while he is recovering,” Karpowitz said. “We simply don’t have much experience understanding what the effect of this very unique medical challenge is likely to be.”