The Hill News

Former Ambassador to China has quietly acquired a website and set up a Twitter account in preparation for a possible run for president.

Huntsman has a website, JonHuntsmanJr.com, that he owns, and which has been updated with some relatively recent articles about him, and his possible pursuit of the presidency.

And there's a (so far unused) Twitter account, @JonHuntsman, that appears to be connected to the former Utah governor, and links to the Huntsman-owned website.

"The website is a simple personal site that provides information on the governor's unique bio and conservative record of accomplishment," said Tim Miller, a spokesman for H PAC, the federal political action committee associated with Hunstman and is serving to lay the ! groundwork for a potential presidential campaign.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is expected to formally announce his presidential candidacy on Twitter and Facebook on Wednesday, underscoring the importance of social media in breaking news and delivering messaging in the 2012 campaign. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney also took supporters and reporters alike off guard when he announced the formation of his exploratory committee on Twitter, as well.

Huntsman's supporters originally set up Horizon PAC, a state-based version of what became H PAC, with a different kind of design than traditional political websites. An eventual presidential campaign by the top China diplomat could look to use social media more than competing candidates' operations.

To that end, James Richardson, a former aide to Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour's (R) presidential campaign, announced that he was joining H PAC to concentrate "on the outsized role of conse! rvative commentary writers and online journalists."