Jon Huntsman | Credit: Gage Skidmore - Flickr

Former Gov. Jon Huntsman of Utah garnered the support of three Florida Republicans on Thursday -- state Sen. Rene Garcia of Hialeah, state Sen. Paula Dockery of Lakeland and Longwood Mayor Joe Durso.

“America needs to strengthen our economic core, and it’s leaders like Senator Garcia, Senator Dockery and Mayor Durso who are working hard every day to achieve that goal,” said Huntsman, who has based his campaign out of Orlando. “I’m honored and humbled to receive the endorsement of such accomplished public servants.”

Huntsman has struggled in national polls, but he has broken double digits in New Hampshire, home of the first presidential primary. Huntsman, who served as ambassador to China, has not polled well in Florida, and at the Republican Party of Florida’s Presidency 5 straw poll in Orlando last week came in seventh place in a field of eight candidates.

The Huntsman camp released a statement on Thursday afternoon with the new endorsements.

“Jon Huntsman’s record of accomplishment in Utah is exactly the type of leadership we need in our next president and I’m proud to endorse his candidacy,” said Garcia who represents parts of Miami-Dade County. “Whether it was implementing free-market health-care reform or implementing the largest tax cut in Utah history, Jon has always been a strong leader and I have no doubt he is the most capable candidate to lead this country to a new industrial revolution.”

“Utah led the nation in job creation when Jon Huntsman was governor, and under his leadership America can lead the world in economic development once again,” said Dockery, who ran for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in 2010 and represents parts of Hernando, Lake, Osceola, Polk and Sumter counties. “I’m proud to endorse his candidacy for president and proud to stand behind the only candidate whose job-creation plan has been endorsed by the Wall Street Journal.”

“America’s next president needs to be experienced and have a proven record of creating jobs,” said Durso. “Jon Huntsman has experience in the private sector, executive experience as governor of Utah, and international experience as ambassador to China -- his talents are exactly what this country needs and I’m proud to endorse his candidacy.”

Other prominent Floridians who have backed Huntsman include Jeb Bush Jr., the son of the former governor, and state Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale.

In a poll of Florida Republicans released Wednesday by Public Policy Polling, an organization with ties to prominent Democrats at the national level, Huntsman garnered 6 percent and stood in seventh place.

Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.