Ex-Arkansas Gov. Hutchinson enters 2024 presidential race

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced Sunday that he will seek the Republican nomination for president, saying ​America needs a different leader than former Commander-in-Chief Donald Trump. ​

​”I have made a decision, and my decision is I’m going to run for president of the United States,” Hutchinson ​told host Jonathan Karl on ABC News’ “This Week.”

“I don’t believe he should be the next leader of our country,” the Arkansas pol said of Trump.

​”While the formal announcement will be later in April, in Bentonville, I want to make it clear to you, Jonathan, I am going to be running,” Hutchinson said. “And the reason is, I’ve traveled the country for six months, I hear people talk about the leadership of our country. I’m convinced that people want leaders that appeal to the best of America and not simply appeal to our worst instincts​.” ​

​Hutchinson​, 72, who served eight years as governor of Arkansas and left office in January after being term-limited,​ said Trump should exit the race in light of the criminal indictment now against him.

“I mean, first of all, the office is more important than any individual person. And so for the sake of the office of the presidency, I do think that’s too much of a sideshow and distraction, and he needs to be able to concentrate on his due process, and there is a presumption of innocence​,” Hutchinson said. ​

Trump, 76, is surging in the polls among Republican voters since the news broke that he was indicted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in connection to a $130,000 hush-money payout to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. 

Hutchinson said the indictment “adds to the unpredictability” of the race. 

“I think it’s a sad day for America that we have a former president that’s indicted, and so it’s a great distraction,” Hutchinson said. “But at the same time, we can’t set aside what our Constitution requires — which is electing a new leader for our country — just because we have this side controversy and criminal charges that are pending​.​

“And so we’ve got to press on, and the American people are ​going to have to separate what the ideas are for our future,” he said.

​​Hutchinson, whose recent travels have included in the early voting state of Iowa, acknowledged that it will take a “lot of hard work and good messaging” to raise his national profile and to overcome what’s expected to be a jam-packed GOP primary field. ​

“It’s still about retail politics in many of these states,” the former gov said, referring to the tactic by politicians to attend local events to appeal to small groups of voters. “And also, this is one of the most unpredictable political environments that I’ve seen in my lifetime. So my message of experience, of consistent conservatism and hope for our future in solving problems that face Americans, I think that that resonates.”

Trump announced in November that he would make a third bid for the White House and was followed by Republican former US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley in February and GOP tech entrepreneur Vivek  Ramaswamy. 

​Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence and ​former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie are expected to throw their hats in the GOP primary ring in the coming months, as well.  

Unlike some other potential Republican hopefuls and announced candidates, Hutchinson did not attack Trump’s Manhattan indictment as a partisan issue. 

“The grand jury found probable cause, and that’s the standard for any criminal charges in our society,” Hutchinson said.

“I know there’s going to be some that say I should be tougher on the prosecutor, I should be tougher on the unfairness of this. I’ve expressed my view that I wouldn’t bring those charges if I was a prosecutor​,” he said.

​”But let’s let the system work. And what I don’t want to do as a leader is undermine everything that is good about America, which is our criminal justice system,” he continued.

Hutchinson also emphasized that he would rather be considered being in the “non-Trump lane” rather than the “anti-Trump lane.

“When I say ‘non-Trump,’ I want to be able to speak to the Trump voters. I want to be able to speak to all of the party and say, ‘This is the leadership that I want to provide, and I think that we need to have border security. I think we need to have a strong America; we need to spend less at the federal level.’ These are the values that I represent,” Hutchinson said.