Former Arkansas Gov William “Asa” Hutchinson announced on Sunday that he will run for president of the United States in 2024. The 72-year-old Republican sees himself as offering an alternative for conservatives, as legal issues begin to envelop former President Donald Trump.
Trump, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley have already announced their candidacies. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to announce his this month.
Hutchinson said that “the reason is, as I’ve traveled the country for six months, I hear people talk about the leadership of our country and I’m convinced that people want leaders that appeal to the best of America.”
Hutchinson made the announcement to Jonathan Karl, co-anchor of the “This Week” program, and added that a formal announcement would come later in April.
Hutchinson, an attorney, served as the 46th governor of Arkansas from 2015 to 2023. In 2002 he was appointed by President George W. Bush as Department of Homeland Security undersecretary for Border and Transportation Security. He was confirmed unanimously by the Senate in January of 2003 and went on to oversee 110,000 federal employees enforcing the security of borders, waterways, transportation, and immigration systems at a time when the country was on high alert against terrorist attacks from abroad.
Prior to his appointment to the Bush cabinet, Hutchinson served as a member of Congress from Arkansas from 1997 to 2001. After he was reelected to this third term, he was appointed administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
He practiced law for many years prior to his political life, and was appointed by President Ronald Reagan as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, becoming the youngest U.S. Attorney in the nation at age 31.
