(CNSNews.com) - GOP presidential candidate Jon Huntsman announced Monday in South Carolina that he is dropping out of the race and endorsing frontrunner Mitt Romney. Huntsman called on his former opponents to do away with negative, personal attacks and speak directly to voters about their ideas to rebuild America.

"Today I am suspending my campaign for the presidency. I believe it is time for our party to unite around the candidate best equipped to defeat Barack Obama. Despite our differences and the space between us on some of the issues, I believe that candidate is Governor Mitt Romney," Huntsman said.

The former Utah governor said the race had "degenerated into an onslaught of negative and personal attacks not worthy of the American people and not worthy of this critical time in our nation's history."

Huntsman said the "current toxic form of our political discourse does not help" the Republican Party's cause and is "just one of the many reasons why the American people have lost trust in their elected leaders."

"Three years ago, our president promised to unite the American people. Yet, his desire to engage in class warfare for political gain has left us more divided than ever. This divisiveness is corrosive and does not advance America's interests, and for our nation to move forward together with new leadership and unity, the Republican Party must first unite," he added.

Huntsman called on each campaign "to cease attacking each other and instead talk directly to the American people about how our conservative ideas will create jobs, reduce our nation's debt, help stabilize energy prices and create a brighter future for our children and our grandchildren."