, who recently completed two terms as , said Sunday he will seek the Republican presidential nomination, positioning himself as an alternative to just days after

Hutchinson said Trump should drop out of the race, arguing B次元官网网址渢he office is more important than any individual person.B次元官网网址�

Hutchinson, who announced his candidacy on ABCB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淭his Week,B次元官网网址� said he was running because B次元官网网址淚 believe that I am the right time for America, the right candidate for our country and its future.B次元官网网址� He added: B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 convinced that people want leaders that appeal to the best of America and not simply appeal to our worst instincts.B次元官网网址�

He is the first Republican to enter the race since Trump became the only former U.S. president to ever face criminal charges. HutchinsonB次元官网网址檚 candidacy will test the GOPB次元官网网址檚 appetite for those who speak out against Trump. Others who have criticized Trump, including former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, have , sensing the difficulty of prevailing in a primary.

Hutchinson, in an Associated Press interview later Sunday, said it was important for voters to have an alternative leader and B次元官网网址渘ot simply go by default to somebody who is really wrapped around what happened in the past.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 think you have to be blustery. I think you can be honest and authentic, and thatB次元官网网址檚 what I want to be able to offer,B次元官网网址� he said.

In a sign of TrumpB次元官网网址檚 continued grip on the Republican base, most in the party B次元官网网址� even those considering challenging him for the nomination B次元官网网址� have defended him against the New York indictment. Hutchinson, notably, had said Friday that Trump should B次元官网网址渟tep aside,B次元官网网址� calling the charges a B次元官网网址渄istraction.B次元官网网址�

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In addition to Trump, Hutchinson joins a Republican field that also includes former U.N. Ambassador and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. Florida Gov. is expected to jump into the race in the summer, while U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former Vice President are among those considering bids.

B次元官网网址淚 think I stand out by stating my convictions and my vision for the country,B次元官网网址� Hutchinson told the AP. B次元官网网址淚 think that is illustrated in the last week, in how IB次元官网网址檝e handled the Trump indictment, how IB次元官网网址檝e handled how we need to move forward as a party and a country.B次元官网网址�

The formal campaign announcement will come April 26 in Bentonville, his hometown and also the home of WalmartB次元官网网址檚 headquarters. He will be campaigning in the coming weeks in Iowa, Indiana and Kentucky.

He said he could be very competitive in places like Iowa, where campaigning involves B次元官网网址渞etail politicsB次元官网网址� like chatting with potential voters in diners. He also said he believed he would be financially competitive, though, B次元官网网址渃ertainly itB次元官网网址檚 not going to be at the level of the Donald Trumps of the world.B次元官网网址�

Hutchinson, 72, left office in January after . He has ramped up his criticism of the former president in recent months, calling another Trump presidential nomination the B次元官网网址渨orst scenarioB次元官网网址� for Republicans and saying it will likely benefit President chances in 2024.

The former governor, who was term-limited, has been a fixture in Arkansas politics since the 1980s, when the state was predominantly Democratic. A former congressman, he was one of the House managers prosecuting the impeachment case against President .

Hutchinson served as President head of the Drug Enforcement Administration and was an undersecretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

As governor, Hutchinson championed a series of income tax cuts as the stateB次元官网网址檚 budget surpluses grew. He signed several abortion restrictions into law, including a ban on the procedure that took effect when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade last year. Hutchinson, however, has said he regretted that the measure did not include exceptions for rape or incest.

Hutchinson earned the ire of Trump and social conservatives last year when he banning gender-affirming medical care for children. ArkansasB次元官网网址� majority-Republican Legislature overrode HutchinsonB次元官网网址檚 veto and enacted the ban, which has been temporarily blocked by a federal judge.

Trump called Hutchinson a B次元官网网址淩INOB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� a Republican In Name Only B次元官网网址� for the veto. HutchinsonB次元官网网址檚 successor, former White House press secretary , has said she would have signed the legislation.

Since taking office, sheB次元官网网址檚 signed legislation aimed at reinstating the currently blocked ban by making it easier to sue providers of such care to minors.

Hutchinson, who endorsed Sanders and signed other restrictions on transgender youth into law, said the Arkansas ban went too far and that he would have signed the measure if it had focused only on surgery.

Although he has supported TrumpB次元官网网址檚 policies, Hutchinson has become increasingly critical of the former presidentB次元官网网址檚 rhetoric and lies about the 2020 presidential election. He said TrumpB次元官网网址檚 call to terminate parts of the Constitution to overturn the election hurt the country.

Hutchinson also criticized Trump for meeting with , who has praised Adolf Hitler and spewed antisemitic conspiracy theories. Hutchinson has contrasted that meeting to his own background as a U.S. attorney who prosecuted white supremacists in Arkansas in the 1980s.

An opponent of the federal health care law, Hutchinson after taking office supported keeping ArkansasB次元官网网址� version of Medicaid expansion. But he championed a work requirement for the law that was blocked by a federal judge.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Hutchinson tried to push back against misinformation about the virus with daily news conferences and a series of town halls he held around the state aimed at encouraging people to get vaccinated.

The former governor is known more for talking policy than for fiery speeches, often flanked by charts and graphs at his news conferences at the state Capitol. Instead of picking fights on Twitter, he tweets out Bible verses every Sunday morning.

___

Associated Press writer Michelle L. Price in New York contributed to this report.

Andrew Demillo, The Associated Press

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