Free Republic

In a recent episode of The Purple Principle, a podcast that examines democracy and polarization from a nonpartisan lens, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson said that while he was skeptical of ranked choice voting at first, he now sees it as a meaningful solution to elect candidates with the broadest appeal. "I resisted ranked choice and different initiatives that would weaken the two political parties," he said. "Now I don't see it as weakening the parties as much as forcing the candidates to say, 'We've got to appeal to a broad swath of the American electorate." Many voters may not...

The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) begins Wednesday, attracting conservatives at home and abroad, but the anti-Trumpers want everyone to know they are holding a counter-summit, which they claim is about “rebuilding principled leadership,” but is openly “anti-Trump.” (snip) But the Never Trumpers said they are holding a counter-event, called the Principles First Summit, which they claim will gather hundreds of “pro-democracy, anti-Trump conservatives and centrists,” starting Friday.Some of the anti-Trump figures highlighted for the counter-summit include George Conway, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, Bill Kristol, failed Trump challenger Asa Hutchinson, and former Rep....

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Republican presidential candidate and ex-Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson endorsed Nikki Haley on Saturday, days before she tries to take on frontrunner Donald Trump in the New Hampshire primary. Hutchinson is a conservative whose opposition to Trump became central in his longshot bid for the GOP primary before he dropped out Tuesday. In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Hutchinson said: “Anyone who believes Donald Trump will unite this country has been asleep over the last 8 years. Trump intentionally tries to divide America and will continue to do so.” Haley’s campaign did not immediately...

On Tuesday, following the Iowa caucuses in which he received an underwhelming 0.2 percent of the vote, Republican Presidential hopeful and former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson formally dropped out of the Republican primary contest.Hutchinson’s exit came a day after he finished sixth in Iowa’s leadoff caucuses, well behind Trump and other top rivals but also behind Ryan Binkley, a pastor who failed to qualify for any of the debates. Hutchinson was the last GOP candidate remaining in the race who was willing to directly take on Trump.“I congratulate Donald J. Trump for his win last night in Iowa and to...

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Tuesday ended his campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination after finishing in sixth place in the Iowa caucus. Hutchinson congratulated former President Donald Trump for his win in Iowa, which hosted the nation's first presidential nominating contest on Monday. "Today, I am suspending my campaign for President and driving back to Arkansas. My message of being a principled Republican with experience and telling the truth about the current front-runner did not sell in Iowa," according to The Associated Press. With more than 95% of the votes counted Tuesday morning, Hutchinson received 0.2% support...

How can educated men like former Vice President Mike Pence, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, and former Texas Representative Will Hurd be so stupid? (I am leaving out former Attorney General Bill Barr since he’s busy looking at bridges.) They have spent much of their lives in Republican politics and yet have a minuscule understanding of the largest grassroots Republican movement in modern history that is embraced and endorsed by more than half of Republicans—primarily the “base.”No Republican can win the nomination without the MAGA base. America First Patriots stand with Donald Trump just...

Former Gov. Larry Hogan (R-MD) said Wednesday on CNN’s “Inside Politics” that he was “embarrassed and disgusted” during the GOP debate when the six presidential candidates raised their hands when asked if they would support former President Donald Trump even if he convicted of a crime. Hogan said, “That was the low light of the entire debate. I was embarrassed and disgusted by it. The fact that we have to let the court cases play themselves out. Everybody is presumed innocent until proven guilty no man is above the law. But for six people to raise their hand and say...

'Zero,' replied the conservative commentator when asked how many COVID vaccines he has received. (LifeSiteNews) — In a confrontational interview with Republican presidential nomination candidate Asa Hutchinson, conservative commentator Tucker Carlson asserted that he never took the COVID-19 vaccine. The revelation took place during a July 14 presidential summit sponsored by Blaze Media in which Carlson was pressing the former Arkansas governor about his position on the COVID vaccine and related mandates. “How did you feel about [COVID mandates] and how many COVID shots did you take, and how do you feel about it now in retrospect?” Carlson asked Hutchinson....

Tucker Carlson hosted a candidate forum at the Family Leadership Summit in Des Moines, Iowa, on July 14. Politico described it as the “Tucker stress test,” and many 2024 GOP candidates failed. The former Fox News host outright brutalized them. You could argue that Mr. Carlson was the grim reaper to many candidacies this week.On the other hand, some folks, like Tim Scott, Asa Hutchinson, and Mike Pence, didn’t have a shot at winning the nomination anyway. Asa Hutchinson got cornered on transgender issues, which the former Arkansas governor felt wasn’t significant. Carlson reminded him that it’s one of the...

Tucker revealed he did not take any of the COVID-19 vaccinations on Friday, during his interview with former Arkansas Governor and 2024 presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson at the Family Leadership Summit. “How many COVID shots did you take and how do you feel about it now, in retrospect?” Carlson asked. “How many COVID shots did you take?” Hutchinson replied. “Zero,” Carlson said. Hutchinson admitted he got the COVID-19 jabs.

NEW: Tucker Carlson calls out RINO Republican presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson to his face for supporting gender transitioning children. Tucker is putting everyone on blast 🔥 "These are children who are being altered permanently and you can defend that change if you'd like, but there is no debate about whether or not it's permanent." "You said that children should be able to choose their gender and their parents should be able to affirm that and the state has no role in getting involved... You're saying that a child shouldn't be able to choose a bathroom but can choose his sex?"...

Former President Trump’s campaign described Iowa State Senator Jeff Reichman (R) as “lily-livered,” for flipping his endorsement to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) following Trump’s attack on Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) earlier this week. In a statement to The Hill, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung stated, “There is no room for weak-kneed and lily-livered people on Team Trump.”

Struggling in the polls has not kept former Arkansas Gov. from delivering some hot takes about his opponents on cable news. Last night during an interview with CNN’s Abby Phillip, Hutchinson, speaking from Bentonville, ripped former President Donald Trump for not being able to protect our nation’s secrets and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for not being able to answer a high school student’s question about January 6. “American voters deserve more,” Hutchinson said. He also pronounced “bravado” quite strangely. Listen for yourself.

Mike Pence and Asa Hutchinson are being funded by the billionaire class in the 2024 race for the same reason, camp out in Iowa and try to suck up the votes from the Iowa evangelical community. Make MAGA seem extreme through advanced milquetoast operations. That’s it. That’s the goal. Wear pastels and sweater vests; be the acceptable Republican and make triangle, crustless cucumber and mayonnaise sandwiches great again. That’s the entire modus operandi. To promote this effort, Mike Pence appears with Chuck Todd on Meet the Press to talk about the crass/horrible orange man. Pence was scheduled for the entire...

Over one-quarter of Republican voters – 27 percent – will not consider voting for Governor of Florida Ron DeSantis in the upcoming Republican presidential nomination race. Comparably, just 14 percent of Republican voters say they would not consider supporting Donald J. Trump.The data comes from CBS and YouGov, and sampled a hefty 2,480 U.S. adults between June 7-10th, with a 2.7 percent margin of error.Though considered by many to be Trump’s toughest opponent, Trump and DeSantis are almost as far apart from each other as DeSantis and Senator Tim Scott, who is polling third, 15 points behind DeSantis, with 42...

Republican presidential candidate and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) said on this week’s broadcast of “Fox News Sunday” that the government should not interfere with parents’ decisions on hormone treatments for transgender children Anchor Shannon Bream said, “Let’s talk about another hot-button issue, transitions for patients and people under the age of 18. People have argued that your position is not truly conservative. You vetoed a bill that would have prohibited hormone treatment or puberty blockers for people under the age of 18.”

Republican presidential candidate and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) said Tuesday on MSNBC’s “The 11th Hour” that Republicans need to take a Manhattan jury finding former President Donald Trump liable for sexual abuse “very seriously.” Hutchinson said, “I practiced law for 25 years. Anytime a jury comes back with a verdict I respect the verdict of the jury. Jury verdicts reflect the community, they reflect America, and they also have the credibility of witnesses and the truth of the allegations, and they found unanimously that the allegations of sexual assault or true. So, I believe that we all, as...

Former Arkansas state Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson received a 46-month prison sentence for his role in a bribery and tax fraud scheme, the Department of Justice announced Friday. Hutchinson, 48, of Little Rock, pleaded guilty in 2019 to filing a false tax return in the U.S. District Court of Eastern Arkansas. He also pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit federal program bribery in the U.S. District Court in Western Arkansas, according to a DOJ news release. Sentencing is still pending in the U.S. District Court of Missouri on a plea deal reached in a separate case, according to...

Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson announces on ABC news that he will be running for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.Speaking in the customary tones of an evangelical minister trained in the dark arts of using a righteous serpent tongue, Mr. Hutchinson indicates that he carries a higher moral authority to sit in judgement of what the professional Republican Party truly needs. The professional Republican Party likely anticipates dozens of votes for Hutchinson. WATCH:He’s not running for President; he’s running to be the silver-haired serpent tongue of the professional Republican apparatus. Creepy vibes are all over this guy…[Transcript Below]JONATHAN KARL, CNN...

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) announced Sunday that he is running for president in 2024. The former Republican governor, and frequent critic of former President Donald Trump, took aim at the GOP front-runner in his announcement, both indirectly and directly. "I have made a decision, and my decision is that I'm going to run for president of the United States," Hutchinson, 72, said in an interview with Jonathan Karl on ABC’s This Week, adding that he will make his formal announcement later in the month. “I am going to be running. And the reason, as I’ve traveled the country...