Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson Suspends Presidential Campaign After Receiving 200 Votes in Iowa

Hutchinson finished sixth place in Monday's Iowa caucus, which marked the first presidential nominating contest of the election season

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson has suspended his 2024 presidential campaign after receiving less than 200 votes during Monday's Republican caucuses in Iowa. Hutchinson, 73, finished sixth place in the first nominating contest of the election season.

"Today, I am suspending my campaign for President and driving back to Arkansas," Hutchinson said in a statement issued Tuesday morning. "My message of being a principled Republican with experience and telling the truth about the current front runner did not sell in Iowa. I stand by the campaign I ran."

On Tuesday morning, with an estimated 99% of results in, Hutchinson had garnered just 191 votes in Iowa, receiving zero of the state's 40 GOP delegates.

Former President Donald Trump won the caucuses with 51% of the vote, followed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in a distant second with 21.2%. Nikki Haley came in third place with 19.1%. Trump carried every county in the state except for one, which Haley won by a single vote.

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who came in fourth with 7.7% of the vote, also announced he is suspending his 2024 presidential campaign on Monday.

Related: Donald Trump Wins Republican Caucuses in Iowa, Securing Party's First 2024 Victory

Hutchinson first confirmed his plans to run for president last April, saying he "wanted to make it clear" that he's launching a campaign while appearing on ABC News' This Week with George Stephanopoulos.

"I have made a decision. And my decision is, I'm going to run for president of the United States," Hutchinson told co-anchor Jonathan Karl at the time.

Hutchinson has been among the most outspoken Republican critics of Trump, changing his opinion of the twice-impeached leader in the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

Related: Arkansas' GOP Governor Says He Won't Back Trump in the Next Election

The politician has since called Trump "politically and morally responsible" for the events of that day and has publicly stated that he won't support Trump for president just because he's a member of the same party, explaining to CNN in 2021: "I would not support him for re-election in 2024."

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Having previously served as a district attorney, U.S. Representative, DEA administrator and Homeland Security undersecretary, Hutchinson was most recently the 46th governor of Arkansas from 2015 until 2023, when he was succeeded by Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

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