Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced on Jan. 16 he is dropping out of the presidential race.
This comes one day after Mr. Hutchinson finished in second-to-last place among the declared candidates for the Iowa caucuses.
“I congratulate Donald J. Trump for his win last night in Iowa and to the other candidates who competed and garnered delegate support,” he said in a statement. “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,” he continued. “I stand by the campaign I ran. I answered every question, sounded the warning to the GOP about the risks in 2024 and presented hope for our country’s future. Susan and I are blessed beyond measure, and we are grateful for the opportunity to have fought in the political arena for America.”
Mr. Hutchinson followed entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy in dropping out of the contest for the GOP nomination for the White House following the caucuses.
In the RealClearPolitics polling average, Mr. Hutchinson has just 0.7 percent support.
On the campaign trail, Mr. Hutchinson deviated from GOP stances on culture war issues.
In 2023, he defended vetoing a bill as governor that would have prohibited a ban on gender-changing surgeries for those under 18 years old. The veto was overturned but was struck down by a federal judge.
“It was unconstitutional. It interfered with parents and so I sided with parents on that bill in managing the most sensitive issue that a parent can face,” he told former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson at the Family Leadership Summit in July. “And I believe in a limited role of government.”
Additionally, Mr. Hutchinson predicted Trump would be convicted. The former president faces 91 charges across four criminal cases.
“Next March not only brings us March Madness, it will also—we will witness our justice system at work and on trial in federal and state courtrooms,” he told the Florida Freedom Summit in November, referring to the annual college basketball tournament.
“As someone who has been in the courtroom for over 25 years as a federal prosecutor and also in defending some of the most serious criminal cases, I can say that there is a significant likelihood that Donald Trump will be found guilty by a jury on a felony offense next year,” he said.
Finally, at the first debate in August, Mr. Hutchinson refused to raise his hand when those on stage were asked if they would support President Trump were he to be the nominee even if he is convicted.
“I did not raise my hand because there’s an important issue we, as a party, have to face,” he said.
“Over a year ago, I said that Donald Trump was morally disqualified from being president again as a result of what happened on Jan. 6,” continued Mr. Hutchinson. “More people are understanding the importance of that, including conservative legal scholars.”
