Former GOP presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson said in a USA Today op-ed that he won’t vote for or endorse Donald Trump in the upcoming 2024 presidential election.
Hutchinson, the former congressman and ex-governor of Arkansas who dropped out of the Republican primary race in January, denounced Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, as well as his unwillingness to criticize Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump secured the GOP nomination this month, cementing a rematch between him and President Joe Biden for the presidency.
“Regretfully, Donald Trump has redefined the GOP in his image and has put personal ego above the common good,” Hutchinson wrote in his op-ed.
Still, the 73-year-old said he would not be voting for or endorsing Biden either, referencing his border policies, economic record and “his slow growth energy policy.” It’s unclear who Hutchinson will vote for or if he will vote at all.
“Where do we go from here? Let me emphasize that I still believe in the principles of the Republican Party — that we can make life better for all Americans, that we must still assert global leadership to promote peace and commerce, and that character matters as we strive to show the next generation the importance of public service,” Hutchinson wrote.
Hutchinson is not the first Republican presidential primary dropout to say they will not endorse Trump.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, whom Hutchinson previously endorsed before she dropped out of the race earlier this month, also did not endorse the former president.
Likewise, former Vice President Mike Pence, who dropped out of the race in October last year, also said he wouldn’t endorse Trump.
“Donald Trump is pursuing and articulating an agenda that is at odds with the conservative agenda that we governed on during our four years. That’s why I cannot, in good conscience, endorse Donald Trump in this campaign,” Pence told Fox News last week.
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