The Story:
Governor Asa Hutchinson (R-AR), on Tuesday May 22, advanced his reelection cause by defeating his primary opponent, Jan Morgan, a woman who denied his conservative credentials, calling him “a big government tax and spend establishment progressive.”
Background:Â
Hutchinson has in fact been solidly conservative by most metrics throughout his political career. In the late 1990s, he was one of the Republican managers (prosecutors) of the impeachment case against President Bill Clinton. Later, he served as the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration under President George W. Bush.
But it is as Governor of Arkansas that Hutchinson has distinguished himself: as an enthusiast of the death penalty. A little more than a year ago he approved an expedited schedule of executions — eight convicts in an eleven day period — out of concern that the expiration date on much of the state’s supply of one of the drugs in the standard execution ‘cocktail’ was nearing.
The Thing to Know:
Hutchinson defeated Morgan handily getting 69% of the vote. He now faces Jared Henderson, the Democratic Party’s nominee, in the fall. Hutchinson is the heavy favorite in this very Republican state.
