Asa Hutchinson Exeter town hall at 5 p.m. Here are 5 things to know about him
The inaugural Republican presidential Town Hall forums in Exeter, New Hampshire begin Tuesday, Oct. 10 at 5 p.m. with Asa Hutchinson, a two-term Arkansas governor and three-term congressman who has been an outspoken critic of frontrunner Donald Trump. Doors open at 4 p.m.
This is an important week for the New Hampshire presidential primaries as the filing period for candidates opens on Oct. 11 and will run through Oct. 27.
Hosted by Seacoastonline, USA TODAY and the USA TODAY Network, the presidential forums will be held at the historic Exeter Town Hall on Front Street, an iconic location that has long been a favorite of presidential candidates. It's where the first Republican president, Abraham Lincoln, spoke in March 1860, shortly before launching his successful campaign.
Exeter makes a strong claim to being the birthplace of the Republican Party, as 170 years ago this month, Amos Tuck, a friend of Lincoln's, gathered like-minded anti-slavery political leaders and began the work of creating a new American political party.
Hutchinson served the maximum two terms as governor of Arkansas, from 2015 to 2023. He announced his presidential run in April.
Ahead of tonight’s town hall, here are five things to know about Asa Hutchinson:
A popular two-term governor
Hutchinson, 72, served two terms as Arkansas governor, from 2015 to 2023.
“In 2018, he was re-elected with 65% of the vote, having received more votes than any other candidate for governor in the state’s history,” according to his National Governor’s Association biography, where he served a term as chairman. “He won recognition for the state as a leader in computer science education, cut taxes by over $250 million and signed a law that exempts the retirement pay of veterans from state income tax.”
In a video announcing his candidacy, Hutchinson said, “I not only balanced the budget, but created record surpluses. I’m deeply concerned about our nation’s $32 trillion debt. We have to stop living off borrowed money.”
He was a leader at DEA and Homeland Security
Hutchinson served as a U.S. attorney for the Western District of Arkansas under Ronald Reagan and in 1996 won the first of three terms to the U.S. House. In 2001, President George W. Bush appointed him director of the Drug Enforcement Administration, and in 2003 as an undersecretary at the Department of Homeland Security, where he was responsible for border security.
"I served as head of the DEA and I’m prepared to provide real solutions for the Fentanyl crisis our communities face when it comes to securing our border,” Hutchinson said in a video announcing his candidacy. “I had that responsibility under President Bush, and I know what needs to be done.”
He's a strong supporter of Israel and Ukraine
Following Hamas' attacks on Saturday, Hutchinson, who visited Israel both as governor and while in Congress, issued a statement of support for Israel and also took a shot at the Biden administration.
"Today’s horrific attacks on Israel, on the 50th Anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, are symbolic of the times we find ourselves in with weak leadership in the White House. America has lost standing on the world stage. We must stand with Israel. We must stand for freedom and democracy. We must stand to face evil head-on."
In a second Facebook post, Hutchinson implicated Iran in the attacks.
Hutchinson has also been steadfast in calling for America to support Ukraine in its war with Russia.
Following Russia's invasion Hutchinson said: “The people of Ukraine are proving to the world that they are willing to do whatever is necessary to defend their country, their families, and their liberties from Russian aggression. We must do everything we can to ensure that (Vladimir) Putin and his enablers pay for their actions.”
He prosecuted white nationalists
While working as U.S. attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, Hutchinson "successfully prosecuted a white supremacist group known as the Covenant, the Sword and Arm of the Lord," according to The Forward. "The group set fire to the Beth Shalom Jewish Religious and Community Center in Bloomington, Indiana in 1983."
"In the 1980s, as a U.S. attorney, Hutchinson put on a bulletproof vest to negotiate the end of a standoff with a white supremacist group in the Ozark Mountains," the Associated Press reported.
Following the violent, racist and anti-Semitic "Unite the Right" march in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, which resulted in a fatality, Hutchinson wrote on Facebook: "White supremacy has no place in America. When it turned violent in the 80's, I prosecuted them as U.S. Attorney."
Calls Trump 'morally disqualified' from presidency
Hutchinson has been critical of former President Donald Trump, urging him to drop out of the race. At the first presidential debate in Milwaukee in August he was one of only two candidates not to commit to supporting Trump even if he is convicted in a court of law if he is the party's nominee.
"Donald Trump was morally disqualified from being president again, as a result of what happened on January 6," Hutchinson said. "More people are understanding the importance of that, including conservative legal scholars."
Hutchinson first said Trump should quit the race, if he faced criminal charges, in a USA TODAY interview in March, prior to the former president's first indictment.
"It's out of respect for the institution of the presidency of the United States. And, that's a distraction that is difficult to run for the highest office in the land under those circumstances," Hutchinson said at the time.
How do the Exeter Town Hall forums work?
The forums are free and open to the public on a first-come, first serve basis. Following brief opening remarks by Governor Hutchinson, voters will have the opportunity to ask him questions and he will respond directly.
Following Hutchinson's appearance the following candidates are scheduled:
Nikki Haley, Thursday, Oct. 12, 6:30 p.m.
Former South Carolina governor and UN Ambassador Nikki Haley will appear on Thursday, Oct. 12, at 6:30 p.m.
In announcing her candidacy for president Haley, 51, called for “a new generation of leadership to rediscover fiscal responsibility, secure our border and strengthen our country, our pride and our purpose,” drawing a contrast between herself and former President Trump, 77, and President Joe Biden, 80.
Noting that Republicans have “lost the popular vote in seven out of the last eight presidential elections,” Haley declared: “That has to change.”
“Joe Biden’s record is abysmal. But that shouldn’t come as a surprise. The Washington establishment has failed us over and over and over again.”
Haley served as South Carolina governor from 2011 to 2017, stepping down in 2017 to take the role of ambassador to the United Nations in the Trump administration. She announced her presidential bid in February, citing her record of economic growth as governor and deep knowledge of world affairs garnered during her time as UN ambassador.
Haley has been surging in the polls both in New Hampshire and Iowa, prompting Trump, the frontrunner to divert his attacks to her from a fading Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“Love this,” Haley tweeted in response. “It means we are in 2nd and moving up fast. Bring it!.”
In her campaign announcement Haley anticipated Trump’s attacks.
“You should know this about me,” she said. “I don’t put up with bullies. And when you kick back, it hurts them more if you’re wearing heels.”
Doug Burgum, Friday, Oct. 13, 10 a.m.
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum will meet with voters on the morning of Friday, Oct. 13, 10 a.m.
Elected governor in 2016 with little political experience, Burgum, 67, won his second term in a 40-point landslide in 2020.
On the campaign trail, Burgum talks about his small town roots and values and the challenges his family faced when his father died when Burgum was a freshman in high school. Burgum mortgaged the family farm to start a software company he later sold to Microsoft in 2001 for $1.1 billion.
“I believed then and I believe now that unlimited opportunity exists everywhere in America,” Burgum said when announcing his candidacy. “I literally bet the farm to help turn a small startup into a billion dollar company in North Dakota.”
On his campaign website, Burgum asks the question: “Why Doug?”
His answer: “Doug Burgum is a governor and a business leader. His top priorities: the economy, energy and national security. Make no mistake, Doug’s a conservative on other important issues too, but he knows if we get the economy, energy and national security right, we will unlock the best of America and improve every American life.”
Mike Pence, Friday, Oct. 13, 3 p.m.
On the campaign trail, former vice president Mike Pence, 64, has acknowledged he’s “known well but not well known.” He’ll do his best to change that when he meets with voters on Friday, Oct. 13 at 3 p.m.
Before being elected the 48th vice president of the United States in 2016, Pence was a lawyer, a radio talk show host, a six-term conservative member of the U.S. House. In 2013, he became governor of Indiana.
“As governor, he enacted the largest income tax cut in Indiana history, lowering individual income tax rates, the business personal property tax and the corporate income tax in order to strengthen the State’s competitive edge and attract new investment and good-paying jobs,” according to Pence’s biography in the National Archives. “Due to his relentless focus on jobs, the state’s unemployment rate fell by half during his four years in office, and at the end of his term, more Hoosiers were working than at any point in the state’s 200-year history.”
On Jan. 6, Pence was thrust into the spotlight when he declined to illegally interfere with Congress’s counting of presidential delegates, drawing the ire of President Trump and his supporters but also praise both from colleagues, scholars and voters he meets on the campaign trail.
“Now the amount of chutzpah it took to do that, to stick to your principles, honor our country and its Constitution and then also go through the grief that he has gone through since then as a result of doing his damn job; I want to personally thank you,” former ambassador Scott Brown told Pence at a recent campaign event in Rye, New Hampshire.
When announcing his run for president, Pence stated: “I know we can bring this country back. We can defend our nation and secure our borders, we can revive our economy and put our nation back on a path to a balanced federal budget. We can defend our liberties and give America a new beginning for life.”
In his opening remarks in Rye, Pence told the crowd: “I’m a Christian, a conservative and a Republican, in that order.”
Vivek Ramaswamy, Saturday, Oct. 14, 10 a.m.
Businessman and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, of Ohio, will bring his campaign to Exeter Town Hall on Saturday, Oct. 14 at 10 a.m.
In his first run for political office, Ramaswamy has gained traction with Republican primary voters in Iowa, New Hampshire and across the nation. On the campaign trail Ramaswamy points to “10 Truths”: “God is real; there are two genders; human flourishing requires fossil fuels; reverse racism is racism; an open border is no border; parents determine the education of their children; the nuclear family is the greatest form of governance known to mankind; capitalism lifts people up from poverty; there are three branches of the U.S. government, not four; the U.S. Constitution is the strongest guarantor of freedoms in history.”
At his events, Ramaswamy asks: “Do you want reform or revolution? I stand on the side of revolution. We’re not just running from something. We’re running to something.”
Ramaswamy graduated from Harvard with a degree in biology, and he has a law degree from Yale. At 38 years old, Ramaswamy made his fortune starting the biotech company Roivant Sciences, which developed five therapies that gained FDA approval. After leaving Roivant he launched the asset management firm Strive in 2022.
He is the author of three books: “Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America’s Social Justice Scam,” “Nation of Victims: Identity Politics, the Death of Merit, and the Path Back to Excellence”, and “Capitalist Punishment: How Wall Street is Using Your Money to Create a Country You Didn’t Vote For.”
In his books and on the campaign trail Ramaswamy argues that so-called “woke” values are undermining America’s values and economic strength.
“Faith, patriotism, and hard work have disappeared, only to be replaced by new secular religions like COVIDISM, climateism, and gender ideology,” Ramaswamy said when announcing his campaign. “We hunger to be part of something bigger than ourselves, yet we cannot even answer the question of what it means to be an American. Today the woke left preys on that vacuum. They tell you that your race, your gender, and your sexual orientation govern who you are, what you can achieve and what you're allowed to think.”
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This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: 5 things to know about Asa Hutchinson before Exeter NH town hall
