April 26
Asa Hutchinson formally launched his campaign from Bentonville, AR. He condemned Joe Biden’s handling of the economy and pitched himself as a classic small government conservative, contrasting himself with both Biden and former president Trump.
April 27
Hutchinson began a string of media appearances with a slot on Fox & Friends. He emphasised his extensive political and law enforcement experience and laid out several policy proposals including cutting the federal civilian workforce by 10%. He also signalled distance between himself and many Republicans on foreign policy, wanting the US to embrace its position as a leader on the world stage. He also Criticized spending levels under the Trump administration.
April 28
Took part in a townhall hosted by SiriusXM.
April 29
A quiet day for Hutchinson.
April 30
Hutchinson appeared on CNN’s State of the Union. He laid out his abortion position – a federal ban with exceptions for rape, incest and to protect the life of the mother – and criticized DeSantis’s fight with Disney arguing government should not take the kind of approach to private business that DeSantis has taken.
May 1
Hutchinson launched his official campaign events in Iowa. He Held a meet and greet in Tipton, before speaking to students from the University of Iowa in Iowa City. He claimed he would have vetoed a recent bill that became law in Iowa banning gender-affirming care. He explained that he supports banning surgery for minors but believes parents should be able to make the choice for other types of gender affirming care. He also made that point that he wants the US to challenge China in in the development of artificial intelligence. The campaign then travelled to meet with Johnson County Republicans where he emphasized his law enforcement experience as being useful in tackling illegal immigration. A new CBS/YouGov poll was released, pegging Hutchinson at 1%.
May 2
The campaign moved on to Cedar Rapids where Hutchinson met with with Linn County Republicans. Had an opinion piece published by CNN, using it to condemn Trump’s election denial and role in January 6th. He also called on the GOP to raise its standards and stick to its principles. He framed himself as a “problem solving conservative.” Finally, he appeared on Fox News. He engaged in a spiky interview with Lawrence Fox, who is currently filling Tucker Carlson’s old slot.
Having launched his campaign last Wednesday, Asa Hutchinson has hit the campaign trail hard and will be hoping recent media appearances and various meet and greets in Iowa will generate some much needed momentum.