The fourth candidate for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination has thrown his hat into the ring. Former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson joins former president Donald Trump, former South Carolina governor and former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy in a bid for the GOP nomination.
Stop laughing. It’s true.
“I have made a decision, and my decision is I’m going to run for president of the United States,” Hutchinson told ABC News. “While the formal announcement will be later in April, in Bentonville, I want to make it clear to you… I am going to be running. And the reason is, I’ve traveled the country for six months, I hear people talk about the leadership of our country. I’m convinced that people want leaders that appeal to the best of America, and not simply appeal to our worst instincts.”Hutchinson has mulled a potential presidential run for months, receiving support from a new super PAC in February.. . . . Hutchinson served two terms as Arkansas governor before retiring due to term limits. He has since been replaced by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders. As he concluded his tenure as governor, Hutchinson made back-to-back trips to Iowa, the state that for a half-century has kicked off the presidential nominating calendar.”Going to Iowa probably does send some signals that you’re serious about looking at 2024,” Hutchinson told Fox News in February.Hutchinson called the reception he received from Iowans “very welcoming,” and said his stops gave him “an opportunity to listen to Iowans and their leaders about the challenges they face and also solutions that they’re looking at.”
While Huchinson has a pretty close to zero chance of winning the nomination, the DNC seems intent on making him sound great to the GOP base.
Fox News continues:
DNC Chair Jaime Harrison issued a statement in response to Hutchinson’s announcement, saying, “After calling Donald Trump ‘the kind of transparent, straight-talking leader America needs,’ Asa Hutchinson now wants to rewrite history – but his support for Trump and the MAGA agenda speaks for itself. As governor, Hutchinson signed one of the strictest abortion bans in the country, ripped health care away from thousands of Arkansans, and advocated for taking away the ACA’s protections for those with preexisting conditions. He’s just another extremist joining the ever-expanding race for the MAGA base.”
Hutchinson, however, made the self-interested assertion that Trump should withdraw from the race due to the Bragg indictment but acknowledges that’s not going to happen:
Hutchinson weighed in on Trump’s indictment after it arrived on Thursday, saying the former president should withdraw from the race.
It’s hard to imagine Hutchinson winning very many votes in a GOP primary. Maybe he can have Chris Christie join him on a TDS ticket? That’ll get him all of ten votes. Maybe.
Needless to say, people have thoughts.
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