Last week, the Republican party allowed candidates to present themselves to a national audience and address criticism from their opponents, during a two hour debate that was hosted by Fox News. One of the candidates who was on the stage was former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson.
During the debate, Hutchinson stood out from the rest of the candidates when he was the only candidate not to raise his hand when asked if he would support former president and current frontrunner for the nomination Donald Trump.
In an interview with Arkansas PBS, Hutchinson said he believes the Republican party needs to move on from Trump if the party is to stay competitive in presidential elections.
“I fought for the Republican party and built the Republican party in Arkansas for 40 years,” he said. “I don’t like to see it going away and forever change its course and diminish it as a competitive party. We are on the verge of that and I am fighting. If I win that fight, we’ll see. It’s a fight worth having.”
The last time the Republican candidate for president won the popular vote was in 2004, when George W. Bush won re-election.
According to a debate tracker by CNN, Hutchinson received the least amount of speaking time at the debate. Despite his limited speaking time, Heather Yates, associate professor of political science at the University of Central Arkansas, said Hutchinson met the goals he likely had for the debate.
“He nailed his first goal, which was to introduce himself to a national audience. He needed to put out his record, leading with a results-driven resumè. He was trying to present himself to the audience as a record-proven Republican of the traditional kind,” Yates said during a panel discussion hosted by Arkansas PBS.
The second Republican presidential debate will take place next month at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.
