Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. said he doesn't feel snubbed by a Michigan county Republican Party's cancellation of a scheduled appearance there on Saturday because it could violate the party's principles.

"I don't interpret it beyond what the party chair told me yesterday when he called, and that was that it involved just a couple of people and it was not representative at all of their state party," Huntsman said.

Kent County Republican Party Chairwoman Joanne Voorhees abruptly cancelled the Saturday fundraiser, writing in a reported e-mail that "voters want and expect us to stand on principle and return to our roots," and holding the Huntsman event "would be doing the exact opposite."

She didn't say specifically what she objected to, but a group opposing gay marriage quickly praised the move, attributing it to Huntsman's support for civil unions.

The state party chairman, Ron Weiser, arranged an impromptu reception for Huntsman in place of the Kent County event, one of four he will attend this weekend.

Huntsman said he hopes to revitalize the party and to do that, it needs to cast a wider net.

"The party needs to broaden itself," he said, noting that surveys have found that about one in five Americans identify themselves as Republicans, the lowest point since Watergate. "The only way we're going to bring people who have defected into the independent party and nonaffiliated category is through ideas, is through bold solutions to our everyday problems."

Huntsman has appeared at a handful of party-building events in recent months, including functions in North Carolina and South Carolina and the ones scheduled for this weekend in Michigan.

While that level of activity is what would be expected of a presidential hopeful, Huntsman brushed aside talk of his own White House prospects and says he is attending the events to help infuse some life into the party and because so few others can do it.

"We'll do that every now and again because there aren't a lot of Republicans still in office who are able to reinvigorate the party apparatus. So by process of elimination, we're going to be one of a few who might be able to do that," he said.