Asa Hutchinson

Dropped out

Birth date: Dec. 3, 1950 (age 73)
Birthplace: Bentonville, Ark.
Party: Republican
Education: Bob Jones University (B.A.); University of Arkansas School of Law (J.D.)
Spouse: Susan Burrell Hutchinson
Former offices: Arkansas governor; Department of Homeland Security undersecretary for border security; chief, Drug Enforcement Administration; congressman from Arkansas; chair, Arkansas Republican Party; U.S. attorney, Western District of Arkansas

The former Arkansas governor is selling himself as a “more stable alternative to former president Donald Trump.” In his April announcement, Hutchinson said he was battling for the “future of our country and the soul of our party.” Hutchinson has certainly broken with other GOP presidential candidates in saying that Trump should drop out of the 2024 contest because he’s been indicted and that the Jan. 6, 2021, riot “disqualifies” him. He has a conservative gubernatorial record but unlike some GOP leaders, he defends the FBI and federal law-enforcement officials as a former U.S. attorney and DEA director. As governor, Hutchinson signed a near total abortion ban, though later said he supports exceptions for rape and incest. He split from some GOP governors during the pandemic in encouraging masking and vaccination. He suspended his campaign on Jan. 16 after the Iowa caucuses.

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