OAN’s Abril Elfi
11:21 AM – Tuesday, January 16, 2024
Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson has dropped out of the 2024 presidential race.
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On Tuesday, two-term governor Hutchinson (R-Ark.) announced the end to his campaign after finishing sixth during the Iowa caucuses.
“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,” Hutchinson said in a statement. “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.”
According to the unofficial tally, Hutchinson received fewer than 200 votes out of the more than 110,000 cast in Iowa’s Republican presidential caucuses.
Former 45th President Donald Trump came out on top, as expected, in the Iowa GOP caucuses on Monday night after he finished above 50% and captured the majority of the vote, setting a new record.
The former governor has previously criticized Trump and in early November asserted that “there is a significant likelihood that Donald Trump will be found guilty by a jury on a felony offense next year.”
“That may or may not happen. Before you vote in March, it might not make any difference to you, but it will make a difference for our chances to attract independent voters in November. It will make a difference for those down ticket races for Congress and Senate, and it will weaken the GOP for decades to come. As a party, we must support the rule of law,” he emphasized.
Hutchinson launched his presidential campaign in April of 2023 but struggled with fundraising and his poll numbers never rose above the low single digits.
In August, he reached the polling and donation requirements in order to be eligible for August’s first GOP presidential nomination debate, but he was still unable to take the stage.
The Republican presidential race now has three major candidates left: Trump, Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.), and Nikki Haley (R-S.C.).
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