Arkansas governor says he’s working to ‘lay a foundation’ for 2024 run

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) teased a presidential run on Wednesday while speaking to the Arkansas Bar Association’s annual meeting.

Arkansas Online reported that Hutchinson told the crowd of lawyers that he was “pretty concerned” about the direction of the country and the Republican Party.

“I want to be a voice of problem solving in government and not creating chaos, and so that is my mission,” Hutchinson said. “I am doing what is necessary to lay a foundation for 2024, but let me assure you my first priority through the remainder of my term is Arkansas.”

The two-term Arkansas governor is term limited and will leave the role in January.

“We are not going to go out into the next role in life quietly,” he said on Wednesday, according to Arkansas Online. “It’s going to be a very active finish to the term, and we got a lot to do. Stay tuned, and hope we can do some good things after my term as governor, and we will see where that leads.”

Hutchinson has kept the door open to a White House bid before but has said he won’t make a decision until after the midterms.

He made an appearance in New Hampshire in April at “Politics & Eggs,” an event considered a mainstay in the presidential campaign for politicians seeking a possible run.

Hutchinson also consistently appears on the Sunday morning talk shows, regularly challenging policies championed by many members of his own party.

He expressed willingness for a “conversation” on raising the minimum age to purchase a semiautomatic rifle from 18 to 21 following the mass shooting at an Uvalde, Texas, elementary school that left 19 kids and two teachers slain.

Arkansas Online reported that during his speech on Wednesday, Hutchinson applauded the Senate bipartisan framework on gun-related legislation — which did not include raising the minimum purchase age for any firearms — but said he wants to see the legislative text.

Following the leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said a national abortion ban was “possible.”

The next day on ABC’s “This Week,” Hutchinson described McConnell’s potential proposal as “inconsistent with what we’ve been fighting for.”

Hutchinson has kept former President Trump at arm’s length, saying last year he would not support Trump if he runs in 2024 but recently adding that Trump’s plans won’t affect Hutchinson’s decision to run.

Hutchinson said on Sunday that Trump is “politically” and “morally” responsible for the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.

“Republicans need to do a lot of soul searching as to what is the right thing here and what is the right thing for our democracy in the future,” he told “Fox News Sunday.”