The Patriot Post® · Hutchinson: The Latest GOP Aspirant

Another former governor of a southern state is throwing his hat into the 2024 GOP presidential race.

Former two-term Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson jumped the gun a little bit on his more formal announcement slated for later this month, instead telling ABC’s Jonathan Karl that, after six months traveling the nation and gauging interest, he is entering the race. “I’m convinced that people want leaders that appeal to the best of America and not simply appeal to our worst instincts,” said Hutchinson. “I believe I can be that kind of leader for the people of America.”

This was a rather newsworthy scoop, but thanks to the current news cycle, Karl was more interested in churning Hutchinson’s take on the Donald Trump saga. Asa obliged, saying it was “a sad day for America that we have a former president that’s indicted,” adding that “we can’t be sidetracked for a year and a half.” He also called on Trump to drop out of the 2024 race.

Age has become an issue in the 2024 election primarily because Joe Biden is obviously too old for the office. Nikki Haley in particular has made much of the generational disparity also because Trump is no spring chicken. In fact, if Trump takes office again, he’d be older than Ronald Reagan was when he left office.

Yet the 72-year-old Hutchinson is so old he’s also a throwback to the Reagan era. In fact, his first political job was being appointed by Reagan to be U.S. attorney for the Western District of Arkansas — at the time the youngest such officeholder in the country. Later, after unsuccessfully trying for a U.S. Senate seat and the state’s attorney general position, Hutchinson won a congressional seat in 1996. As part of his House duties, his experience as U.S. attorney made Hutchinson a natural to be one of the House managers for the impeachment trial of Bill Clinton in 1999.

Winning three straight House elections before taking a job in 2001 as head of the DEA in the George W. Bush administration, Hutchinson was one of the initial Republicans to assist in shifting the formerly Democrat-dominated state of Arkansas to the solid GOP bastion that it is today. After spending over a decade in Washington between congressional duties, appointments, and time in private practice with the law firm Venable LLP, Asa returned to Arkansas and won in his second try for governor in 2014. Hutchinson succeeded Mike Beebe, whom he lost to in his first attempt for the governor’s chair in 2006.

With his experience, it’s natural to see that Hutchinson and his “consistent conservatism” can bring something to the GOP presidential table in a normal election. In an interview, he said that he hoped voters thought of him as “authentic, a person of faith, and somebody that loves my family.” But 2024 isn’t a normal election, and critics don’t see Hutchinson as one who will stand out or be inspiring.

“Asked how he would ‘break through’ into greater public awareness of his campaign, Hutchinson offered nothing specific about a unique cause or issues,” opined political analyst Quin Hillyer. “Instead, his strategy is ‘a lot of hard work and good messaging,’ along with ‘retail politics.’” Hillyer added, “Hint: When a candidate talks about his need for ‘messaging’ rather than actually delivering a message, voters snore.” Hutchinson believes he’ll best appeal to more moderate, coastal voters, but unfortunately many of those voters are in states that have long since gone to the Democrats and that he’s unlikely to flip.

One thing Trump has never lacked is a message, even if it’s not delivered in the most eloquent manner. That’s who Hutchison is trying to beat.

Another strike against Hutchinson among a segment of GOP values voters is his 2021 veto of a state ban on transgender medical procedures on minors — a veto quickly overridden by the state’s legislature. “I wanted to say to my Republican friends and colleagues that we’ve got to rethink our engagement in every aspect of the cultural wars,” he told NPR at the time. “The Republican Party that I grew up with believed in a restrained government that did not jump in the middle of every issue.”

However, the GOP he grew up with never dreamed that radical and abusive procedures performed on children who don’t have the maturity to make such sound, life-altering decisions would someday be a thing not just allowed but aggressively promoted.

So, just what “lane” would Asa Hutchinson occupy in the GOP race? The transgender bill veto was part of his record as governor, but so were tax cuts for individuals and corporations, an abortion ban trigger law that eventually went into effect with the Dobbs decision, the signing of a bill designed to prevent transgender boys from playing girls sports, and a ban on COVID-19 vaccine requirements in the state. But his view on foreign affairs is considered more of an old-school traditional Republican approach as opposed to the Trumpian “America First” minimally interventionist policy.

If Asa Hutchinson wants to portray himself as a second coming of Ronald Reagan, there are worse ways to appeal to voters. The question is whether he can get that message out when one or two candidates suck up all the media oxygen.