Abby Huntsman to leave ‘The View’ to help father’s campaign for Utah governor

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Abby Huntsman said Monday she is leaving “The View” to assist her father, Jon Huntsman Jr., in his run to be Utah’s governor.

People Magazine first reported Monday morning she would leave the afternoon talk show. Abby Huntsman announced she would leave the show after Friday’s episode and that she had been offered a spot helping run her father’s campaign a few months ago, according to KSL.com.

According to the show, she will serve as a senior advisor in Jon Huntsman Jr.’s campaign.

"Today, I'm saying goodbye."@HuntsmanAbby announces she is leaving @TheView to help run her father's campaign for governor of Utah: "It's not often in life that you get these moments to go fight for something that you are so passionate about." https://t.co/VTJUxjEuW6 pic.twitter.com/XsGahw3VPc

— The View (@TheView) January 13, 2020

“This panel is pretty special … and I’m so thankful for this opportunity, but, as you guys know, my No. 1 priority has always been my family,” she said on the show. “Over the holidays, when you take a step back and you think about life, you think about your kids, you think about what you want to do every day that just gets you going, and there’s nobody I believe in more than my dad right now.”

She joined the show in 2018 after a stint at Fox News. “The View” also features co-hosts Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, Sunny Hostin and Meghan McCain. Abby Huntsman added she may return to the show after the gubernatorial race is over.

Jon Huntsman Jr. served as Utah’s governor from 2005 until 2009, before he left to serve as the U.S. ambassador to China under the Obama administration. He left that position in 2011. Huntsman also served as the U.S. ambassador to Russia under the Trump Administration from 2017 until last year, when he stepped down.

Huntsman announced he was seeking to be Utah’s governor again in November 2019.

In a Utah Policy poll within Republican voters released last month, Huntsman trailed Utah Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox 41-29% among possible Republican candidates; however, he had a strong lead over all other possible candidates mentioned in the poll.

So far, Huntsman, Cox, former Utah House Speaker Greg Hughes, former Utah Republican Party Chairman Thomas Wright, businessman Jeff Burningham and Salt Lake County Councilwoman Aimee Winder Newton have declared intent to run for governor among Republicans. Zachary Moses, a Democrat, is also running for the office.

Gov. Gary Herbert, who took over that position after Jon Huntsman Jr. left in 2009, is not seeking re-election and will leave the office at the end of his term.