GOP Gov Hutchinson Says 2024 Presidential Bid 'on the Table'
Newsmax
Sunday,
01 May 2022 04:03 PM EDT
https://www.newsmax.com/politics/election-2024-hutchinson-president/2022/05/01/id/1067991/
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Sunday he is
weighing a presidential run in 2024 and his decision won't be affected by
whether former President Donald Trump decides to join the race.
Hutchinson,
a two-term Republican governor who is restricted under Arkansas law from
seeking a third term, said it was time for the national GOP to move on from
Trump in regards to the candidates he's endorsing in the 2022 midterm elections
as well as "the direction he wants to take our country."
Asked
on CNN's "State of the Union" if he was mulling a presidential
run, Hutchinson replied: "I am. But you have got to get through, of
course, this year, but that’s an option that’s on the table."
Making
clear he was "not aligned" with Trump, Hutchinson added: "I
think he did a lot of good things for our country, but we need to go a
different direction. And so that’s not a factor in my decision-making
process."
Currently
the chairman of the National Governors Association, Hutchinson in recent months
has become a fixture on cable television — at times drawing the ire of Trump —
in defending his veto of legislation targeting transgender youths in the state
and warning fellow Republicans about tying their fortunes too closely to the
former president. After the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, which led to Trump’s
impeachment by the House, Hutchinson said he wanted Trump’s administration to
end. He's made it clear since early 2021 that he would not back a Trump 2024
bid and urged public officials to look ahead rather than focus on Trump's false
claims of a stolen 2020 election.
Though
Trump remains the most popular figure among Republican voters who dominate
primary elections, several GOP figures are considering presidential runs on a
platform opposing the former president. Beyond Hutchinson, they include Gov.
Larry Hogan of Maryland and Reps. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois and Liz Cheney of
Wyoming.
Other
candidates eyeing possible runs are Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice
President Mike Pence and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, though they
have been less clear about their intentions if Trump enters the race. Nikki
Haley, a former South Carolina governor and U.N. ambassador, has said she would
stand down on a potential bid if Trump opts to run a second time.
Connecting
the Dots:
Asa Hutchinson was
the Governor of Arkansas and is a director at the Constitution Project.
Morton H. Halperin was
a director at the Constitution Project and is a senior adviser
for the Open Society Foundations.
George Soros is
the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations.
Resources:
Past Research
Smaller
Bites – Connecting the Dots: Mike Pence, Asa Hutchinson, Constitution Project,
Smithsonian Institution & Soros Funding, All Networking (Past Research on Asa Hutchinson)
WEDNESDAY,
JUNE 7, 2023
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