Asa Hutchinson

Biography

William Asa Hutchinson II (born December 3, 1950) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician who served as the 46th governor of Arkansas from 2015 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a U.S. attorney, U.S. representative, and in two roles in the George W. Bush administration. In 1982, President Ronald Reagan appointed Hutchinson to serve as the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, which covers most of Fort Smith. In 1986, Hutchinson unsuccessfully challenged Democratic U.S. Senator Dale Bumpers, before losing a race for Attorney General of Arkansas to Winston Bryant four years later. He later successfully ran for the House of Representatives in 1996, representing Arkansas's 3rd congressional district until 2001, when president George W. Bush successfully nominated him as Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration. In 2003, Bush appointed Hutchinson as the Under Secretary for border and transportation security at the newly established Department of Homeland Security; Hutchinson retired from the Bush administration in 2005. In 2006, Hutchinson was the Republican nominee for governor of Arkansas, but lost to Democratic nominee Mike Beebe, the state attorney general. In 2014, Hutchinson was again the Republican nominee for governor, this time defeating the Democratic nominee, U.S. Representative Mike Ross. He was reelected in 2018 with nearly two-thirds of the vote. Due to term limits, he was barred from seeking reelection in 2022, and was succeeded by Sarah Huckabee Sanders. From 2020 to 2021, Hutchinson served as vice chair of the National Governors Association. He succeeded Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York as chair of the organization for 2021–2022. Hutchinson is a candidate for president of the United States in 2024.