Washington, Jan 17 (IANS) US Republican candidate Jon Huntsman Monday announced to quit his presidential bid while endorsing his one-time rival Mitt Romney.

Huntsman, the former Utah governor and former US ambassador to China made the announcement at a press conference in south Carolina, Xinhua reported.

“Today, I am suspending my campaign for the presidency. I believe it is now time for our party to unite around the candidate best equipped to defeat Barack Obama,” he said. “Despite our differences and the space between us on some of the issues, I believe that candidate is governor Mitt Romney.”

Rather than restoring bold and principled leadership, this campaign generated onslaught with personal and negative attacks against each other, he said, calling for campaigns that “cease attacking each other” and “talk to the American people.”