Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman (R), who ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, had harsh words for his party in an interview published Sunday in Britain's Daily Telegraph.
"The party right now is a holding company that's devoid of a soul and it will be filled up with ideas over time and leaders will take their proper place," he said.
"We can't be known as a party that's fear-based and doesn't believe in math," he added. "In the end it will come down to a party that believes in opportunity for all our people, economic competitiveness and a strong dose of libertarianism."
Hunstman, who dropped out of the Republican race after coming in third in the New Hampshire primary, has criticized the rightward tilt of the party. In a recent interview with The Huffington Post, he took issue with the obstructionist policies of the GOP, describing them as "thwart the opposition, stymie the opposition, obfuscate, be a flamethrower, go out there and destroy the system, and here we are."
"In my party, compromise cannot be seen as analogous to treason, which it has been recently," he said.
The former Utah governor, who served as the U.S. Ambassador to China under President Barack Obama, has left open the possibility of a presidential run in 2016. "Life is full of serendipity. This is a total BS way of answering it, but I never would have guessed I'd be a governor. I never would have guessed I'd go to China as ambassador. I never would have guessed I'd run for president," he told HuffPost in November.
CORRECTION: This article previously stated that Jon Huntsman came in second in the New Hampshire primary. He finished third.
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