Republican Asa Hutchinson emphasizes 'farmland values' in formal 2024 presidential campaign launch

Republican former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson formally launched his presidential campaign on Wednesday in his hometown of Bentonville, emphasizing his heartland upbringing.

"This campaign is about courage. It is about making the tough decisions... and we've got our work cut out for us," he said.

Hutchinson called out multiple areas where he disagrees with the Biden administration's record on the economy, border security, crime and foreign policy.

But the roughly 24-minute speech did not lay a finger on Trump, the presumed Republican frontrunner in 2024.

Stay in the conversation on politics: Sign up for the OnPolitics newsletter

Since entering the race Hutchinson has been one of the most outspoken Trump critics in the GOP field. He urged the former president to exit the 2024 contest before Trump was formally charged by a New York prosecutor in a hush-money case.

Now the 72-year-old former former federal prosecutor, who has a lengthy resume of public service, is trying to pave a lane in an increasingly crowded primary that already includes big names and longshots.

Hutchinson's heartland origins

At the outset Hutchinson remarked on his upbringing in the rural hills of Arkansas, which he said laid the ground for his early political awareness and taught him the values needed to be president.

"This is a day in which our nation's future, and my personal story, comes together," he said.

His high school alma mater's marching band and cheerleaders from Gravette, a small town where he attended grade school, outside a county courthouse gave the rally a state fair appeal.

Hutchinson talked about how hauling hay, sacking groceries and being a janitor taught him the "dignity of work."

"In order to bring out the best of America, we must once again embrace the dignity of work," he said. "Our federal government should not reward those who sit at home when they have the ability to work and provide for themselves."

Politics: 2024 candidate Asa Hutchinson would sign a national abortion ban.

Biden v. Trump: Big challenges, but opposite ones, as 2024 rematch begins.

Bentonville and family origins

Choosing to kick off his presidential campaign in Bentonville — the headquarters for Walmart — took on the double meaning of his biography and the subtext of entrepreneurship.

The city of roughly 57,000 people is where Hutchinson first entered public life, serving as a city attorney starting in 1977 before eventually running for Congress and later governor.

"But most importantly, this is where Susan and I started our family and spent some of our happiest years living on 15 acres of rocks and hills, west of town in a double wide mobile home," he said.

No mention of Trump

The former Arkansas governor cast himself early as the GOP foil to Trump, but he didn’t mention the former president once during his formal announcement.

Instead, Hutchinson was more subtle on Wednesday.

Politics: Who is Asa Hutchinson? What to know about the former GOP governor running for president

"There are a few misguided leaders who say we should defend law enforcement, we should defund the FBI," Hutchinson said. "I am here today in support of our law enforcement heroes."

Trump remains the most popular contender for the GOP nomination despite about 44% of Republicans saying they don’t want him to run for reelection, according to a poll from The Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

In March, Hutchinson described Trump's indictment as a "dark day" for the country, adding that the voters — not the court system — should keep him out of the Oval Office.

But plenty of Biden attacks

The Biden administration, he said, "has turned its back on the American worker" in an economy that has seen high inflation rates and rising interest rates.

"Every hardworking American family gets a double hit from the Biden economy," Hutchinson said. "Their paycheck doesn't go as far, and they're paying more on car loans and credit card debt. It hurts down at the store. That is not acceptable."

Elections: Why Biden can’t easily repeat 2020 formula to win in 2024

Hutchinson also laid anxieties over violence at Biden's feet, saying that his administration has "stood on the sidelines" in the face of crime while blaming him for a crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Busy week for campaign launches

The timing of Hutchinson's launch came a day after Biden's long-awaited reelection campaign announcement took off with a video that casts the 2024 race as a "battle for the soul of America."

In it the president called out how the race is one against “MAGA extremists,” a reference to Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.

But Hutchinson has repeatedly said both the former and current presidents care more about the past and have lost sight of the country's future.

Hutchinson's conservative views

During the speech, Hutchinson talked about how rare it was for an Arkansas Republican to win when he first jumped into politics more than three decades ago.

"At that time, Arkansas was a blue state and the Republican Party was pretty much non-existent... I ran as a conservative Republican when being a Republican was like having a career ending handicap," he said.

Hutchinson said that didn't discourage him from sticking up for his principles, such as lower taxes, a strong national defense and opposing abortion.

Elections: 'NO!': Donald Trump suggests he may skip Republican debates because of sponsors and venues

More: U.S. default in early June? GOP struggling to get votes for debt plan

He said he's been a "consistent conservative" through his lengthy career, which includes being the former head of the Drug Enforcement Administration and former undersecretary of the Department of Homeland Security,

"In this campaign for president, I stand alone in terms of my experience, my record and leadership," Hutchinson said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Asa Hutchinson talks up 'farmland values' in 2024 campaign launch