Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) is dropping out of the 2024 Republican presidential primary, underscoring the challenges anti-Trump candidates have faced in the field.
Hutchinson announced his decision Tuesday after a sixth-place finish in Monday’s Iowa caucuses.
“I congratulate Donald J. Trump for his win last night in Iowa and to the other candidates who competed and garnered delegate support,” Hutchinson said in a statement.
“Today, I am suspending my campaign for President and driving back to Arkansas,” he added. My message of being a principled Republican with experience and telling the truth about the current front runner did not sell in Iowa.”
Hutchinson met the threshold to qualify for the first debate in Milwaukee but was unable to meet the criteria for the second debate held in Simi Valley, Calif. He has not been on any of the subsequent debate stages.
Hutchinson was seen as a long-shot candidate since he launched his bid in April, given his criticism of the former president. He described Trump’s conduct as “indefensible behavior” following a jury verdict in the Trump-E. Jean Carroll case, where Trump was found liable of sexual abuse and defamation.
He also took a jab at Trump in April, saying “Donald Trump has taken us back to bitterness” when he was asked why the GOP needed to move on from Trump.
“He’s taken us back to what’s a personal vendetta. Whenever you look at what he wants to do as president, it’s more about getting even with his political enemies than leading our country, and that concerns me,” the former Arkansas governor continued at the time.
Hutchinson’s decision to drop out comes less than 12 hours after Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur who aligned himself with Trump, announced he was exiting the race Monday night.
Last week, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), who also built his campaign around opposition to Trump, bowed out as well.
While Trump continues to dominate the primary, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who came in second in Iowa, and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley are locked in a tight battle to be the alternative to the former president. They are now shifting their focus to the New Hampshire primary next week, where Haley has generally been polling well in relation to Trump and is looking to pull off an upset victory.