(FiveNation.com)- Asa Hutchinson, the former Republican governor of Arkansas, said recently that he’ll likely decide in the next few months about whether he’ll make a run at the White House in 2024.
Speaking on the “Red & Blue” TV show on CBS News Monday night, Hutchinson told Nikole Killion, the outlet’s congressional correspondent, that it would be “probably April” for when he would make a final determination on his political future.
In mentioning that month, the former governor said that Iowa, which is the first state that will have a say in the GOP primary in early 2024, likely will start holding candidate forums starting in July of this year.
A likely deciding factor on if Hutchinson will run for president is whether he continues “getting the response to the message that I bring.” He continued:
“Right now, it’s been very, very positive … [Voters are] looking for someone that is not going to be creating chaos, but also has got the record of being a governor, of lowering taxes … We’re the number one pro-life state in Arkansas.”
Hutchinson categorized his governorship as one focused on “problem-solving” rather than being “reactionary or vengeful or angry.”
He continued:
“Whenever you look at a candidate that we might present, it’s got to be somebody that can attract independent voters and suburban voters. [In 2022], we missed that; we didn’t take advantage of that.”
While the 2022 mention was a reference to the midterm elections – when Republicans underperformed many public expectations by losing a seat in the Senate and only gaining a slight majority in the House – he was also alluding to former President Donald Trump in his comments about candidates.
Hutchinson has long been a critic of Trump, so if he were to decide to run for president, he’d likely be an immediate target of the former president’s wrath.
The former governor also said that he believes he can take his time to decide on his intentions because the overall field of candidates has been pretty slow to fully develop to this point.
Trump is the only person on either side of the aisle who has formally declared that he will be a candidate. It’s expected that Republican Nikki Haley – a former governor herself – will announce her candidacy at an event in her home state of South Carolina on February 15.
More Republican candidates are eventually expected to launch their presidential bids. Some of the potential names who could become part of a crowded field include former Vice President Mike Pence, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
Hutchinson made reference to the likely crowded field of GOP presidential candidates. He predicted, though, that “someone is going to catch on” as the frontrunner after Iowa and New Hampshire hold their caucus and primary votes, respectively. They are the first two states to weigh in on the presidential primary election every four years.
