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SALT LAKE CITY — GOP presidential candidate Jon Huntsman Jr.'s campaign manager has resigned.
The departure of Susie Wiles, a Florida campaign operative, was billed by The New York Times as "the first serious sign of trouble" for Huntsman's campaign.
Huntsman, who stepped down as Utah governor in 2009 to become U.S. ambassador to China, has only been in the race for less than a month. His campaign is headquartered in Orlando, Fla.
Earlier this month, the campaign named Utahn Neil Ashdown as deputy campaign manager. But Matt David, the campaign's communications director, is reportedly replacing Wiles.
Campaign spokesman Tim Miller told the Deseret News that Ashdown will stay with the campaign in the same role.
Ashdown had served as Huntsman's chief of staff as governor and as ambassador. He has traveled with Huntsman on the campaign trail, including to a visit last weekend to Utah.
The shakeup was described as simply shifting gears by Huntsman's top adviser, John Weaver, in a statement released by the campaign.
"Now the campaign is moving into phase two, which will be more aggressive from a messaging and tactical standpoint, and Matt is prepared to take that on," Weaver said in the statement.
Weaver, who had put together what was called a "campaign in waiting" for Huntsman while the candidate was still in China, said Wiles "has served the campaign well and was vital in getting it off the ground in such a short time frame."
Weaver also said Huntsman has already "built strong relationships with donors, as well as political, policy and grassroots leaders that other candidates have been courting for half a decade."
The New York Times noted Huntsman "has been less visible on the campaign trail, holding no public events for days at a time or making just one appearance each day."
When Huntsman was in Utah to seek support from governors attending last weekend's annual meeting of the National Governors Association, he held a news conference Friday and a motorcycle ride Saturday.
After leading a midday ride between motorcycle dealerships in Salt Lake and West Valley, Huntsman greeted supporters and gave a brief speech before taking a break to spend time with his family.
He also met with high-level donors at his family's Deer Valley home, including at a strategy session Saturday morning with supporters who'd flown in from around the country.
Email:lroche@ksl.com
