Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson filed to run for president Friday.
In the Arkansas Capitol rotunda, he filled out the needed paperwork to appear on the state’s primary ballot as a Republican. Hutchinson is polling in the single digits nationally and did not qualify for the last Republican debate earlier this week.
Despite that, Hutchinson says he is not yet throwing in the towel. He says running for president takes “persistent consistency.”
“The political road is paved with ups and downs,” he said, explaining that he is “not doing this because I need something to do.”
The former governor hit on familiar issues including inflation, border security and the budget. He also said the Republican Party has been “hijacked."
“Right now we have a candidate for office who says we ought to invade Mexico,” he said. “We have a candidate that wants to raise the voting age to 25. We have all kinds of ideas out there that are not good for America.”
He says voters should be wary of the policies because politicians “usually do what they say they are going to do.”
Hutchinson says he plans to file in Iowa and New Hampshire next. He will not file to appear on the ballot in the South Carolina primary.
It costs $25,000 for a Republican to file to run for president in Arkansas, an amount the former governor referred to as a wager.
