LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson formally launched his presidential campaign in April and has since made headlines for his public criticisms of former President Donald Trump.
Hutchinson’s public criticisms of Trump have upset some Republican committees in Arkansas.
Referred to by some conservatives as ‘RINO’ or ‘Republican-in-name-only,’ the former Arkansas Governor has left a mixed legacy for many in his crimson-red home state as he embarks on his presidential campaign.
“There are a lot of things that we would have liked to have seen Governor Hutchinson do differently when he was in office, but he did a lot of things right too, so we recognize all of it,” said Alford Drinkwater, Chairman of the Perry County Republican Committee.
Other Republican committees in the state, such as those in Saline County and Greene County, have had more scathing criticisms of Hutchinson, announcing that they do not recommend him as Republican presidential nominee.
The Pulaski County Republican Committee called Hutchinson an embarrassment to the party.
Others cite his stance on social issues as a grievance.
“The whole process of being a Republican means that you need to stay with the principles of the Republican party and if you don’t do that, then people call you Republican-in-name-only,” Drinkwater said.
“Through his entire governorship, I feel like, even though some of the decisions he made were more of a ‘this is what my GOP base wants’ instead of what’s good for Arkansas, I do feel like on a lot of them, he tried to stay somewhere towards the middle,” said Angel McPeak, former Chairman of the Conway County Democratic Party.
The former governor’s moderate stance contrasts him with popular Republican presidential nominees like Trump or DeSantis. The question is, will it work?
“As long as Trump isn’t running, he may have a shot, because that’s what our country does need–it needs a president that is going to reach out to both sides of the aisle and to heal this country from the division that it’s had since Trump,” said McPeak.
“He doesn’t have a snowball’s chance,” Drinkwater said.
