Asa Hutchinson

Asa Hutchinson
Hutchinson in 2023
46th Governor of Arkansas
In office January 13, 2015 – January 10, 2023
Lieutenant	Tim Griffin
Preceded by	Mike Beebe
Succeeded by	Sarah Huckabee Sanders
Chair of the National Governors Association
In office July 8, 2021 – July 15, 2022
Vice Chair	Phil Murphy
Preceded by	Andrew Cuomo
Succeeded by	Phil Murphy
Vice Chair of the National Governors Association
In office August 5, 2020 – July 8, 2021
Chair	Andrew Cuomo
Preceded by	Andrew Cuomo
Succeeded by	Phil Murphy
Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Border and Transportation Security
In office January 23, 2003 – March 1, 2005
President	George W. Bush
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Randy Beardsworth (acting)
8th Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration
In office August 8, 2001 – January 23, 2003
President	George W. Bush
Deputy	John B. Brown III
Preceded by	Donnie R. Marshall
Succeeded by	Karen Tandy
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arkansas's 3rd district
In office January 3, 1997 – August 6, 2001
Preceded by	Tim Hutchinson
Succeeded by	John Boozman
Chair of the Arkansas Republican Party
In office January 1, 1991 – December 31, 1995 Serving with Sheffield Nelson (1991–1992)
Preceded by	Ken Coon
Succeeded by	Lloyd Stone
United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas
In office September 1, 1982 – January 20, 1985
President	Ronald Reagan
Preceded by	Larry McCord
Succeeded by	Michael Fitzhugh
Personal details
Born	William Asa Hutchinson II (1950-12-03) December 3, 1950 (age 73) Bentonville, Arkansas, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Susan Burrell ​ (m. 1973)​
Children	4
Relatives	Tim Hutchinson (brother)
Education	Bob Jones University (BA) University of Arkansas (JD)
Signature
Website	Campaign website

William Asa Hutchinson II (/ˈeɪsə/, AY-sə; born December 3, 1950) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician who served as the 46th governor of Arkansas from 2015 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a U.S. attorney, U.S. representative, and in two roles in the George W. Bush administration. He was a candidate for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

In 1982, President Ronald Reagan appointed Hutchinson to serve as the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, which covers most of Fort Smith. In 1986, Hutchinson unsuccessfully challenged Democratic U.S. Senator Dale Bumpers, before losing a race for Attorney General of Arkansas to Winston Bryant four years later. He later successfully ran for the House of Representatives in 1996, representing Arkansas's 3rd congressional district until 2001, when president George W. Bush successfully nominated him as Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration. In 2003, Bush appointed Hutchinson as the Under Secretary for border and transportation security at the newly established Department of Homeland Security; Hutchinson retired from the Bush administration in 2005.

In 2006, Hutchinson was the Republican nominee for governor of Arkansas, but lost to Democratic nominee Mike Beebe, the state attorney general. In 2014, Hutchinson was again the Republican nominee for governor, this time defeating the Democratic nominee, U.S. Representative Mike Ross. He was reelected in 2018 with nearly two-thirds of the vote. Due to term limits, he was barred from seeking reelection in 2022, and was succeeded by Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

From 2020 to 2021, Hutchinson served as vice chair of the National Governors Association. He succeeded Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York as chair of the organization for 2021–2022. In 2023 he announced his candidacy in the 2024 Republican Party presidential primaries. He suspended his campaign on January 16, 2024, after a poor performance in the Iowa caucuses. In April 2024, he joined Scripps News as a political contributor.^[1]