“My message of being a principled Republican with experience and telling the truth about the current front runner did not sell in Iowa,” Hutchinson said in a statement. “I stand by the campaign I ran. I answered every question, sounded the warning to the GOP about the risks in 2024 and presented hope for our country’s future.”
Hutchinson, who was polling at about 1 percent among Republicans in Iowa, received 0.2 percent in the Iowa caucuses Monday night, with 191 caucus-goers supporting him. He had operated a near bare-bones campaign for months, mostly hosting small gatherings in early states after missing the cut in all but the first televised debate. Hutchinson told The Washington Post last week that he would reevaluate his campaign depending on whether he exceeds his expectations in Iowa, but he declined to define what that threshold would be.
A former federal prosecutor, congressman and the administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration under President George H.W. Bush, Hutchinson said his experience leading Arkansas and working in the federal government equipped him to take on the drug epidemic and grow the economy. He touted his record of passing conservative laws in Arkansas, including one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the country at the time, and keeping the state’s businesses and schools open during the coronavirus pandemic.
Hutchinson’s footprint on the trail was minor since he announced his bid in April. He did not put out a major television ad and spent little on digital advertising. He also skipped filing for the South Carolina primary and raised and spent less money in the third quarter than any other candidate still in the race.
The former governor lost campaign staff as his bid stagnated. Hutchinson’s campaign manager, Rob Burgess, resigned after not seeing a viable path in October.
Republicans’ reception to Hutchinson had been tepid and sometimes hostile. At a gathering of Florida Republicans on Nov. 4, Hutchinson was booed when he predicted “a significant likelihood” that Trump would be convicted of a crime.
“That may or may not happen before you vote in March,” Hutchinson shouted over the angry crowd, “and it might not make any difference to you, but it will make a difference for our chances to attract independent voters in November. It will make a difference for those down-ticket races for Congress and Senate. And it will weaken the GOP for decades to come.”
The month before, at the First in the Nation Leadership Summit, a gathering of Republican organizers in New Hampshire, one audience member asked Hutchinson why he wouldn’t quit and clear the way for another Trump alternative.
“With all due respect, I couldn’t disagree more,” Hutchinson said, saying it was up to primary voters to decide who should move forward. “Let’s give the voters a chance to determine the future of our country.”