BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson officially kicked off his long-shot White House bid Wednesday, betting on a traditional conservative pitch with the hallmarks of the pre-Donald Trump Republican Party in which he launched his career.
The scene outside the flag-draped Benton County Courthouse, where Hutchinson spoke, offered the feel of an old-school political event. The Springdale High School Marching Band performed in the lead-up to his speech, and a group of cheerleaders carrying pompoms led the way as Hutchinson arrived onstage.
The time-honored trappings underlined his standing in the Republican field as a throwback candidate of sorts. Hutchinson, who earlier announced that he planned to enter the race, also stands out for his willingness to directly and consistently criticize Trump, something his other officially announced rivals have largely refrained from doing.
“I’m not an outrageous person,” Hutchinson, 72, said in a Tuesday interview. “What we’re seeing in the party is a reflection of leadership. Our leader of the party, Donald Trump, appealed to the base instincts of Americans, and he has built his campaign on grievances of the past. That appeals to a certain segment, but it doesn’t get the job done for America.”
Asked for comment, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung replied: “Who?”
On Wednesday, however, Hutchinson left Trump’s name out of his speech, describing his own candidacy only as a fight for the “soul” of the GOP and the country’s future. The speech focused on President Biden’s policies.
The ex-governor’s style and résumé — with appointments in both the Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush administrations, as well as a stint in Congress — in many ways puts him out of step with today’s Republican Party, some party strategists said. A GOP that has come to be defined in the Trump era by its combativeness poses a clear challenge for Hutchinson’s candidacy.
Craig Robinson, an Iowa Republican consultant, predicted that Iowans “will definitely listen to” Hutchinson but suggested his prospects are “really difficult.”
“It would be such a wholesale change to go back to this candidate of yesteryear because I think the Republican Party, they’re looking for a fighter,” he said. “Politics is more divisive than ever, and with that there’s not an appetite for, ‘Hey, we just need a really nice guy who can maybe carve a road down the middle and we can all get along.’”
While Hutchinson boasts what was long seen as a conventional background for a presidential candidate, he is entering a GOP primary that is anything but. The polling leader is a former president under indictment who is facing a host of other legal troubles and who continues to falsely suggest that the 2020 election was stolen from him.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is widely expected to launch his bid once his state’s legislative session concludes, has embraced a range of polarizing fights. And even those running or planning to run on a more optimistic message, such as former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley and Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), have warned about the dangers of the “radical left.”
Hutchinson’s allies describe him as a rock-ribbed traditional conservative who has served at nearly every level of government. And while the former governor argues that candidates need to make their case if they are going to take on Trump, he adds: “You have to do it in a respectful way, in a civil discourse.”
Whether Hutchinson’s message can appeal in early nominating states such as Iowa remains to be seen. He is hardly registering in polls amid a growing field where Trump and DeSantis have established themselves far ahead of the rest of the pack.
Hutchinson became a U.S. attorney at age 31 under Reagan and later was administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration and undersecretary for border and transportation security at the Department of Homeland Security in the second Bush administration. On Wednesday, he argued he’s the only candidate with a range of law enforcement experience and touted that Bush had tapped him for the DHS job.
While his style is more measured than bombastic, Hutchinson’s record is reliably conservative. As governor, he signed a near-total abortion ban. And in 2017, he ordered back-to-back executions over a short period of time, drawing the ire of death penalty opponents.
During his time as governor, he vetoed a bill that banned gender-affirming care for transgender youth. He has also signed legislation prohibiting transgender women and girls from competing in school sports.
Speaking about abortion in the interview, Hutchinson said he’d prefer that “the issue be resolved in the states” but added that he would look at a GOP national abortion bill and sign it “if it has the right exceptions and it protects unborn children with reasonable restrictions.”
Democrats were quick to highlight Hutchinson’s record on abortion and health care, as well as his past support of Trump.
“After calling Donald Trump ‘the kind of transparent, straight-talking leader America needs,’ Asa Hutchinson now wants to rewrite history,” said Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison, referring to Hutchinson’s speech at the 2016 Republican convention. “On the heels of endorsing a national abortion ban, Hutchinson is now officially the latest extremist joining the ever-expanding race for the MAGA base.”
Hutchinson’s announcement speech Wednesday was policy-oriented, touting his record as governor and criticizing the Biden administration’s economic and border policies, as well as the withdrawal from Afghanistan. Hutchinson also reasserted his support for Ukraine amid the war with Russia, arguing that “the best way to avoid a long war is to help Ukraine win today.” And in perhaps a subtle reference to DeSantis, Hutchinson said his state beat Florida in the number of in-classroom instructions during the pandemic.
While he did not mention it in his speech, Hutchinson has described the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob as disqualifying for the former president and suggested that Trump should drop out of the race after he was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury last month.
Yet his allies insist he’s not just running as the anti-Trump candidate. Jon Gilmore, who is heading up a super PAC created to support a Hutchinson White House bid, described the candidate’s position as “the consistent conservative lane.”
“He is of the mind-set that President Trump had his opportunity. He voted for him twice for president, that’s no secret. He’s publicly said that and President Trump lost,” Gilmore said. “I commend Asa Hutchinson for the fact that if he’s going to criticize the main man, i.e. Donald Trump, that he’s also willing to put his name on the line with that criticism.”
Fundraising could also be a challenge. Republicans in Arkansas are watching to see whether members of the Walton family, who are heirs to the Walmart fortune, will donate heavily to Hutchinson’s presidential bid.
Hutchinson’s launch attracted Republicans and some independents and Democrats, some of whom said they wanted to see an alternative to Biden and Trump.
Bill Senn, 58, who attended the event and identifies as an independent, said Hutchinson “brings a lot of moderation, but he’s also a staunch conservative.” Senn added: “I don’t think the mainstream American is going to vote for DeSantis. I think they’re going to listen to Asa.”
While Hutchinson may have appeal to voters like Senn, his work ahead will be with GOP primary voters.
“He is not sensationalist, so that can be good for people that are looking for an alternative,” said Robert Coon, an Arkansas-based GOP strategist. “But it can also be a disadvantage if the majority of the electorate is looking for someone that likes to rattle cages.”