BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson will officially launch his presidential bid at an event on the Bentonville Square on April 26, 2023.
It's in Bentonville where Hutchinson was born, practiced law, and first ran for office.
“I've been a consistent conservative through my time as leader of the party in the United States Congress and as governor. And now, I bring that same vigor to a fight in another battle. And that battle is for the future of our country, and the soul of our party," said Asa Hutchinson.
Hutchinson is also launching his bid in an area where the former president remains popular. About 62% of the county's voters supported Trump in the 2020 presidential election. But Hutchinson said the challenges he faces in winning over Trump supporters in his home territory are the same that he'll encounter in early states in the GOP contest.
Hutchinson stated that "In my experience as Congress of the head of the DEA-- involved in national security issues, it gives me the capability to address those and I'm excited about the opportunity to run."
“I have served our country in times of crisis. As governor of Arkansas. We cut taxes and created record surpluses. We increased pay for teachers. We reduce regulations, we recruited industry, and the private sector grew by over 100,000 jobs,” he said.
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Hutchinson's campaign event on Wednesday gives the former two-term governor and increasingly outspoken critic of Donald Trump a chance to introduce himself on a national stage as he makes an uphill bid for the GOP nomination. But the venue also highlights Hutchinson's portrayal of himself as a business-friendly conservative in the backyard of his state's most well-known employer. It comes at the same time potential rival Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is waging war with Disney in his own state.
“It ’s both a return to something old and a rallying of something new,” said Janine Parry, a political science professor at the University of Arkansas. “It’s all encapsulated in one place.”
But Hutchinson remains an unknown to some who have recently moved to the region. That includes Gerald Hatley, a retiree who moved to neighbor Bella Vista from Texas in 2019, who was in Bentonville with his painting club one-day last week. Hatley said he wasn't familiar with Hutchinson and said he's open to supporting anyone he thought would have the best chance at unseating President Joe Biden.
During today's announcement, Hutchinson says that Springdale is where he was pushed to learn by his teachers, and that NWA is where everything started for his political awareness as the country saw a divide over the Vietnam War and the struggle for civil rights.
Being an Arkansan it's no surprise that hundreds of supporters came out for today's announcement.
Resident Don Hutchings said that "It's a massive event with a great turnout for a man who's not afraid to say he loves God, and he's running for the White House."
Hutchings went on to say that he is "so impressed with his eight years. To go out with a billion dollars in the bank. It's just unheard of."
Another resident, WIlla Donley said that "I am a strong Democrat. I worked on the Clinton staff when he was a governor, and I really was trained how to be non-divisive in his office," before going on to say that "I started two years ago calling Asa's office telling him that he needs to run, but I think they thought it was a joke then."
Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Arkansas Fort Smith Dr. Williams Yamkam says that "As of right before he announced for president, Former Governor Asa Hutchinson was standing at around .8%—it's not even registering."
Dr. Yamkam says that as a moderate Republican, Hutchinson is in a unique position.
"In a general election independents play a huge role, because you have 11% of them that can make or break the race. However, you cannot become the nominee unless you satisfy the base," said Dr. Yamkam.
"I think it will all depend on two things: firstly if Former President Trump were to self-destruct it would open up the race because right now he's soaking up all the oxygen in the Republican race, secondly if former Governor Hutchinson was able to find a way to connect with these voters here, but that's a very tough fit to accomplish," said Dr. Yamkam
“You're going uphill when you're running against Trump in the primary, whether you're running in Iowa or Arkansas," Hutchinson said.
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