Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson has launched his candidature for the GOP presidential candidature in 2024.
Hutchinson made the news during an interview with ABC News on Sunday. He served as governor from January 2015 until January 2023.
“I have made a decision, and my decision is I’m going to run for president of the US,” said Hutchinson, the 72-year-old Republican.
According to a statement, he will make a formal announcement on April 26 in his hometown of Bentonville, Arkansas.
The Republican primary field is continually developing.
Former President Donald Trump started his third presidential campaign last year, while Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and US ambassador to the United Nations, became the first significant competitor to oppose him in February.
Several Republicans, like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, and Indian-American software entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, have made steps indicating their interest in running for president.
In his announcement, Hutchinson also doubled down on his call for Trump to drop out of the race as the latter is facing criminal charges.
“The office is more important than any individual person. So for the sake of the office of the presidency, I do think that’s too much of a sideshow and distraction… He needs to be able to concentrate on his due process,” CNN quoted the former Governor as saying.
“This is one of the most unpredictable political environment that I’ve seen in my lifetime… So my message of experience, of consistent conservatism, of hope for our future and solving problems that face Americans, I think that resonates.”
