Asa Hutchinson at Exeter Town Hall: 'we need a course correction in the Republican Party'

Former Arkansas governor and Republican presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson positioned himself as an anti-Trump, traditional Republican during his USA Today New Hampshire Town Hall Tuesday.

Hutchinson said, "we need a course correction in the Republican Party" in front of a handful of New Hampshire voters at Exeter Town Hall in Exeter, New Hampshire.

The former two term Arkansas governor argued that the country should take a larger role in the international order saying that former President Donald Trump wants a, "ring around the United States."

"We can compete on the global stage and we can win," Hutchinson said.

What did Asa Hutchinson say in Exeter?

The town hall led to a wide-ranging discussion of concerns of residents of the Granite State.

Hutchinson repeatedly set out a vision of an austere government, reducing governement spending and balancing the federal budget.

When asked by a voter about eliminating federal departments, Hutchinson said that he would sign bills sent to him that would reduce the size of the federal government and sign an executive order reducing the federal non-defense workforce by 10% but disagreed with Vivek Ramasawamy's plans to reduce the federal workforce by 75%.

The former governor said he would allow governors to implement work requirements for Medicaid.

When asked about school safety, Hutchinson pointed to a commission he formed as governor and a law that required school counselors to spend 90% of their time in, "direct counseling." The former governor also praised a bipartisan Senate Bill and said, "everything should be on the table, consistent with our Second Amendment privileges and rights."

Hutchinson touted his opening of schools in Arkansas during the COVID-19 pandemic, calling it, "the best decision he ever made," though when asked about passing a national school voucher program he said he would leave it to the states.

Hutchinson also said that he would drop the penalty for working seniors who draw from Social Security.

What did Asa Hutchinson say about foreign policy?

When asked about the recent terrorist attacks in Israel, Hutchinson pointed to possible connections between Iran and the attacks from Hamas.

"Israel has to do what they've got to do and we know what they've got to do. And we will support them," Hutchinson said.

Hutchinson supported appropriation bills for both Israel and Ukraine but wanted the bills to be separate.

Hutchinson took a hard line on border security saying he supported giving U.S. Border Patrol more resources. Hutchinson also expressed support for the water barrier erected by Texas governor Greg Abbott

Hutchinson also said he would lean on allies south of the border, saying that he would tell Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, "you better help us on going after the cartels."

The former governor presented an individualist approach to global warming and said that the government is moving too quickly in the conversion to electric vehicles.

Who is Asa Hutchinson?

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.”

Early in his career, Hutchinson worked as a federal prosecutor. Former Republican President Ronald Reagan appointed him to serve as U.S. attorney for the Western District of Arkansas.

He was later elected to the House of Representatives, representing Arkansas' 3rd congressional district from 1997 until he joined former President George W. Bush's administration in 2001. He served first as DEA administrator and later became an undersecretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

While in Congress, he served as an impeachment manager during fellow Arkansas native and former President Bill Clinton's trial in the House. Hutchinson, who said he was hesitant at first due to the potential electoral consequences of sharing a home state with Clinton, said he felt it was his “constitutional duty.”

What did Hutchinson do as governor of Arkansas?

Hutchinson approved tax cuts for individuals and corporations in Arkansas — a state he presided over for eight years as governor.

One of Hutchinson's most notable actions is the near-total abortion ban trigger law that he signed prior to the Supreme Court ruling overturning abortion rights last summer.

The ban provides an exception for when a mother's life is at risk and has no exclusions for victims of rape and incest. Hutchinson later lamented the ban's lack of exceptions, and said it should be "revisited," but has defended signing the bill, saying the aim of the law was to reduce abortions.

Hutchinson also made national headlines in March of 2021 when he signed a law that banned transgender women athletes from participating in women's sports teams in schools. The move drew widespread condemnation from LGBTQ rights groups.

Shortly after signing the bill, Hutchinson vetoed another piece of legislation in April of 2021 that would have banned gender-affirming care for anyone under 18, calling it “over broad” and “extreme.” The Arkansas state legislature overrode the veto.

During the coronavirus pandemic, Hutchinson banned COVID-19 vaccine requirements in state and local governments. He also signed into law a ban on state and local mask mandates, a move he later regretted as cases of the Delta variant were surging among children.

Where is Hutchinson in the polls?

Hutchinson routinely polls under one percent. Nationally, poll aggregators 538 and Real Clear Politics have Hutchinson's poll average at 0.5 and 0.8 percent respectively. Real Clear Politics has Hutchinson's poll average at 0.8 percent in the Granite State.

In a Suffolk University/Boston Globe/USA TODAY poll in New Hampshire only one respondent chose Hutchinson as their first choice.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Asa Hutchinson pitches anti-Trump Republican vision at Exeter Town Hall