Asa Hutchinson Shows No Signs of Dropping Out Despite Polling at 0%

Asa Hutchinson
Scott Olson/Getty Images
Hannah Knudsen

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson — a consistent critic of former President Donald Trump — who is vying for the Republican presidential nomination, is showing no signs of dropping out of the race despite polling at zero percent in several surveys.

In a November interview with 40/29 News On the Record, Hutchinson signaled that he plans to stay in the GOP presidential race until at least March, expecting “dramatic changes” by then.

“By then, you’re going to have a dramatic change, in my judgment, in the politics of the presidential race,” Hutchinson said, signaling that he will stay in the race until Super Tuesday. His state, Arkansas, votes that day as well.

“You’re going to have some that are up now that will be down. Trump will be halfway through his trials. And so I expect dramatic changes,” the anti-Trump Republican predicted.

RELATED — Asa Hutchinson: As President, I Would Not Pardon Trump

However, none of the predictions of the Never Trumpers have materialized in 2023 thus far, as the various indictments — and additional GOP race dropouts — have only consolidated Trump’s status as the GOP frontrunner.

A Morning Consult survey fielded from December 1 to 3, 2023, for example, found Trump with 66 percent support in the GOP field, putting him 53 points ahead of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who came in second place, and 66 points ahead of Hutchinson, who saw zero percent support.

Similarly, a recent Wall Street Journal survey found Trump with 59 points nationally in the GOP race, putting him 44 points above former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who saw 15 percent support. Once again, Hutchison polled zero percent support, down from one percent in August.

Hutchinson does not just suffer on the national scale, either. The latest Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom Iowa Poll shows Trump with a majority, 51 percent, support, while Hutchinson falls 50 points behind with one point in the Hawkeye State.

A recent ECU survey found Hutchinson with one percent in North Carolina’s GOP primary race, with Trump 62 points ahead at 63 percent.

Further, Hutchinson is failing to make a dent in any of the early states. He has an average of 0.7 percent in Iowa, 0.3 percent in New Hampshire, and 0.8 percent in South Carolina, according to RealClearPolitics.

Even though the Republican base has made clear it is not interested in Hutchinson — who was booed at the Florida Freedom Summit after suggesting that Trump will be convicted of a felony — he is not dropping out. At least, not yet.

“The argument is that somehow if we consolidate, that’s going to make it tougher on Trump. In Iowa, Trump is down to 43 percent of the vote — that means 57 percent is looking for alternatives,” Hutchinson told NBC News in November, adding that his campaign is “planning the campaign for January 15 and leading up to that.”

“They’re going to have the opportunity to choose. No one thinks that this field should be consolidated before Super Tuesday,” Hutchinson continued.

“They ought to let the first four states vote and let’s see, you know, where the strength is then. And there’s certainly adequate time to make sure that we have the organized opposition to a Donald Trump presidency,” he added.

RELATED — Asa Hutchinson: “Donald Trump Has a Moral Responsibility for What Happened on January 6”

In August, Trump discussed his issues with the Republican National Committee’s (RNC) pledge to support the eventual nominee, explaining that there were “three or four people” he would not support.

“There’s no reason to insult them, but there are some people there that a lot of people wouldn’t endorse,” he said.

When pressed to name names, Trump used the opportunity to criticize Hutchinson in explaining why he would not participate in the debates.

“Somebody like Asa Hutchinson, who’s polling at zero, will ask me nasty questions. Somebody like Chris Christie — he’s polling at one percent — and he’s going to ask me nasty questions, and others too, and then you have some that are very good,” he said.

WATCH — Trump: I Won’t Sign RNC Pledge to Endorse GOP Nominee — “Three or Four People That I Wouldn’t Support”

It should be noted that Hutchinson also stood as the only GOP candidate to refuse to raise his hand during the August debate when asked if he would support Trump if he is convicted of any crime.

In a recent interview published in the Saint Anselm Crier, which kicked off by asking the former governor his favorite ice cream flavor, Hutchinson continued his criticism of Trump, asserting that future success is “not dependent upon a relationship with Donald Trump.”

Further, Hutchinson said GOP governors, in particular, appear to have a more strained relationship with the former president, asserting that they are fundamentally more independent than members of Congress:

Members of Congress and the Senate, they seem to line up behind Donald Trump, and they seem to have a greater fear of retribution from him. And I think governors show more independence; they have more confidence in their leadership. That, you know, our success is not dependent upon a relationship with Donald Trump. It’s about, you know, doing things within the state, governing well, and solving problems.

He also criticized  Trump’s response to the coronavirus pandemic in that interview.

As for Hutchinson on the campaign trail, it appears he participated in the “Stand with Crypto Presidential Forum” in Manchester on Monday as well as a virtual “Biofuels Town Hall” on Tuesday evening. He has a meet and greet scheduled for Thursday, December 14, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, followed by an appearance at the Portsmouth Rotary in Greenland, New Hampshire, that same day. His website lists no further events beyond Thursday, December 14, as of the time of this writing.

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