Asa Hutchinson
Asa Hutchinson (Republican Party) was the Governor of Arkansas. He assumed office on January 13, 2015. He left office on January 10, 2023.
Hutchinson (Republican Party) ran for election for President of the United States. He will not appear on the ballot for the Republican convention on July 16, 2024.
Hutchinson ran in the 2024 Republican presidential primary. He declared his candidacy on April 2, 2023.[1] Hutchinson withdrew from the race on January 16, 2024.[2] Click here to read more about his presidential campaign.
Hutchinson previously served in the U.S. Congress, representing Arkansas' 3rd Congressional District, from 1997 to 2001. He was one of 13 House managers during the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton (D).[3]
He was also a member of the Bush II administration as the undersecretary for border and transportation security for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from 2003 to 2005 and the director of the Drug Enforcement Administration from 2001 to 2003.[3]
Biography
Hutchinson was born in Bentonville, Arkansas, on December 3, 1950. He graduated with a B.S. in accounting from Bob Jones University in 1972 and a J.D. from the University of Arkansas School of Law in 1975.[4]
Hutchinson worked as a city attorney in Bentonville from 1977 to 1978 and a U.S. attorney, appointed by President Ronald Reagan (R), for the Western District of Arkansas from 1982 to 1985. He also served as the chairman of the Republican Party of Arkansas from 1990 to 1995 before being elected to public office.[3]
Political career
Governor of Arkansas (2015-2023)
Hutchinson assumed office as the governor of Arkansas on January 13, 2015.
Undersecretary, Department of Homeland Security (2003-2005)
Hutchinson served as the undersecretary for border and transportation security at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from 2003 to 2005. He was appointed to the position by President George W. Bush (R).
Director, Drug Enforcement Administration (2001-2003)
Hutchinson was the director of the Drug Enforcement Administration from 2001 to 2003.
U.S. House of Representatives (1997-2001)
Hutchinson represented Arkansas' 3rd Congressional District in the U.S. House from 1997 to 2001.
Elections
2024
Hutchinson announced his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election on April 2, 2023. Hutchinson withdrew from the race on January 16, 2024.[2] Click the links below to read more about the 2024 presidential election:
- Asa Hutchinson presidential campaign, 2024
- Presidential candidates, 2024
- Democratic presidential nomination, 2024
- Republican presidential nomination, 2024
2022
- See also: Arkansas gubernatorial election, 2022
Asa Hutchinson was not able to run for re-election due to term limits.
2018
- See also: Arkansas gubernatorial election, 2018
General election
General election for Governor of Arkansas
Incumbent Asa Hutchinson defeated Jared Henderson and Mark West in the general election for Governor of Arkansas on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Asa Hutchinson (R) | 65.3 | 582,406 |
 | Jared Henderson (D)  | 31.8 | 283,218 | |
 | Mark West (L) | 2.9 | 25,885 | |
| Total votes: 891,509 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Governor of Arkansas
Jared Henderson defeated Leticia Sanders in the Democratic primary for Governor of Arkansas on May 22, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jared Henderson | 63.3 | 67,046 |
 | Leticia Sanders | 36.7 | 38,873 | |
| Total votes: 105,919 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Governor of Arkansas
Incumbent Asa Hutchinson defeated Jan Morgan in the Republican primary for Governor of Arkansas on May 22, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Asa Hutchinson | 69.6 | 143,648 |
 | Jan Morgan | 30.4 | 62,757 | |
| Total votes: 206,405 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2014
- See also: Arkansas Gubernatorial election, 2014
Republican primary
| Governor of Arkansas, Republican Primary, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
 Asa Hutchinson |
73% | 130,752 | ||
| Curtis Coleman | 27% | 48,473 | ||
| Total Votes | 179,225 | |||
| Election results via Arkansas Secretary of State. | ||||
General election
| Governor of Arkansas, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Asa Hutchinson |
55.4% | 470,429 | |
| Democratic | Mike Ross | 41.5% | 352,115 | |
| Libertarian | Frank Gilbert | 1.9% | 16,319 | |
| Green | Josh Drake | 1.1% | 9,729 | |
| Total Votes | 848,592 | |||
| Election results via Arkansas Secretary of State | ||||
2006
- See also: Arkansas gubernatorial election, 2006
Mike Beebe (D) defeated Hutchinson in the election for governor of Arkansas in 2006.
| 2006 election for Governor of Arkansas[5] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percentage | ||
 Mike Beebe (D)
|
430,765 | 55.61% | ||
| Asa Hutchinson (R) | 315,040 | 40.67% | ||
| Rod Bryan (I) | 15,767 | 2.04% | ||
| Jim Lendall (Green) | 12,744 | 1.65% | ||
| Write Ins | 334 | 0.05% | ||
| Total votes | 774,680 | |||
2000
Hutchinson was elected to represent Arkansas' 3rd Congressional District in 2000.
1998
Hutchinson was elected to represent Arkansas' 3rd Congressional District in 1998.
1996
Hutchinson was elected to represent Arkansas' 3rd Congressional District in 1996.
1990
Hutchinson was defeated in the election for attorney general of Arkansas in 1990.
1986
Hutchinson was defeated in the election for U.S. Senate in Arkansas in 1986.
Campaign themes
2018
Hutchinson’s campaign website stated the following:
Campaign website
| “ |
1. Tax Cut
2. Government Transformation
3. Teacher Pay
4. Ethics Reform
5. Infrastructure
|
” |
| —Asa Hutchinson’s campaign website (2018)[7] | ||
Presidential preference
2020
- See also: Presidential election in Arkansas, 2020
Hutchinson endorsed Donald Trump (R) in the 2020 presidential election.[8]
2016
- See also: Presidential election in Arkansas, 2016
Hutchinson initially endorsed Mike Huckabee (R) in the 2016 presidential election. He then endorsed Marco Rubio after Huckabee withdrew.[9] After Donald Trump became the presumptive Republican nominee, Hutchinson endorsed him.[10]
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Noteworthy events
Revision of Religious Freedom Restoration Act
On April 1, 2015, Hutchinson called for the Arkansas State Legislature to revise House Bill 1228, a religious freedom measure. Hutchinson initially indicated his support for the bill, which he said would be similar to the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) signed by President Bill Clinton (D).[11][12]
Opponents argued that the measure would be discriminatory to same-sex couples and members of the LGBT community. The public's reaction motivated Hutchinson to reject the bill in its original form. He requested the legislature revise the bill's wording or draft a new provision that would limit the ability of businesses to refuse service to members of the LGBT community.[11]
Hutchinson said, "What is important from an Arkansas standpoint is one, we get the right balance and secondly, we make sure that we communicate we're not going to be a state that fails to recognize the diversity of our workplace, our economy and our future."[11]
State lawmakers adjusted the bill to match Hutchinson's standards for approval and a compromise bill was prepared and passed. On April 2, 2015, Hutchinson signed the amended version of Arkansas' Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law.[13]
Ballot measure activity
The following table details Hutchinson's ballot measure stances available on Ballotpedia:
| Ballot measure support and opposition for Asa Hutchinson | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ballot measure | Year | Position | Status |
| Arkansas Issue 1, Legislative Authority to Call a Special Session Amendment (2022) | 2022 | Opposed[14] |  Defeated |
| Arkansas Issue 4, Marijuana Legalization Initiative (2022) | 2022 | Opposed[15] | Defeated |
| Arkansas Issue 1, Transportation Sales Tax Continuation Amendment (2020) | 2020 | Supported[16] |  Approved
|
See also
| Arkansas | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
|---|---|---|
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External links
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Candidate President of the United States |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Politico.com, "Asa Hutchinson announces presidential bid, says Trump should withdraw from race," April 2, 2023
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 CNN, "Hutchinson suspends presidential campaign," January 16, 2024
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, "Hutchinson, Asa," accessed June 4, 2021
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Asa Hutchinson," accessed June 4, 2021
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "2006 General Election Results," accessed August 25, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Asa for Arkansas! "Asa's Plan," accessed November 1, 2018
- ↑ Arkansas Onlinee, "Governor endorses reelection of Trump," October 20, 2020
- ↑ Talk Business, "Gov. Asa Hutchinson endorses Rubio for President, Hillary announces Arkansas team," February 22, 2016
- ↑ Arkansas Times, "Gov. Asa Hutchinson now backs Donald Trump for president," May 5, 2016
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Governing, "Why Arkansas' Governor Reversed His Stance on the Religious Freedom Bill," April 2, 2015
- ↑ The New York Times, "Arkansas Governor Asks Lawmakers to Recall Religious Exception Bill," April 1, 2015
- ↑ Arkansas Online, "Hutchinson signs new religion bill," April 2, 2015
- ↑ TBP, "Panel advances proposed constitutional amendment to allow legislature to call itself into special session," April 19, 2021
- ↑ Marijuana Moment, "POLITICSArkansas Governor Tells Police To ‘Stand Firm’ Against Marijuana Legalization Ballot Initiative That’s Heading To Court," August 4, 2022
- ↑ Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, "Governor Hutchinson Praises Passage of Resolution to Refer ½-Cent Sales Tax Extension to Voters," accessed March 13, 2019
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Mike Beebe (D) |
Governor of Arkansas 2015-2023 |
Succeeded by Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) |
| Preceded by - |
Administrator U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency 2001-2003 |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
U.S. House of Representatives 1997-2001 |
Succeeded by - |
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 |
State of Arkansas Little Rock (capital) |
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