This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman said Sunday that Mitt Romney's choice of Rep. Paul Ryan as his running mate shows that the Republican presidential ticket is ready to tackle the big issues that confront America.

Huntsman, who was the first presidential candidate to back Ryan's budget blueprint, endorsed Romney after ending his White House bid but has since also called for a strong, third-party contender and castigated his party for not offering more big-picture ideas.

Now, Huntsman says, Romney has shown he's ready to take on the issues with Ryan at his side.

"Paul Ryan has been an intellectual force within the Republican party who has told hard truths and led the Congress in confronting the greatest of our strategic challenges with his work on fiscal reform," Huntsman said in a statement to The Salt Lake Tribune. "I applaud Governor Romney's selection of him as a running mate, and I look forward to the ticket tackling the issues that truly matter to America's future."

Huntsman continued that other nations are making tough choices to compete in the 21st Century economy, and "we can do the same."

— Thomas BurrTwitter.com/thomaswburr