Back then, Huntsman was a rock star, literally taking the stage at the state fair to play the keyboard with REO Speedwagon and Styx to rave reviews.
The son of a legendary Utah businessman, he handily won the governorship in 2004 and took every county and 78 percent of the vote in 2008. He then resigned — to become the U.S. ambassador to China in 2009, with an approval rating shooting into the 80s.
As the now-U.S. ambassador to Russia, he plans to depart Moscow and return to his home state for a possible bid for governor — again — facing a state that has shifted in some ways and one with voters who may not remember his time in office so clearly.