BY: ROBIN OPSAHL - JANUARY 9, 2023 5:01 PM
IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH - Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson spent his last day as Arkansas governor in Iowa with legislators preparing for their first day of the 2023 legislative session.
Hutchinson congratulated Iowa Republicans for their successes in the 2022 election at the party’s legislative breakfast Monday morning and led the group in prayer.
“I know you think I’m just lost being up here in Iowa being the governor of Arkansas, but it’s an honor to be here and show support for Gov. Kim Reynolds and the team that you’ve assembled,” Hutchinson said Monday.
It’s the last day he will be able to say he’s Arkansas’ governor: Sarah Huckabee Sanders will be inaugurated as governor Tuesday, taking over for Hutchinson who met his term limit in the office.
While Hutchinson has not announced any official next steps, he’s considering a presidential bid in 2024, making Iowa a prime stop. It’s not his first time speaking in Iowa: He also addressed the Westside Conservative Club in Des Moines in November.
Gov. Kim Reynolds said she looks forward to continuing to welcome presidential candidates to Iowa, and thanked the Republican National Committee at the legislative breakfast for keeping Iowa’s caucuses first in the nation. The Democratic National Committee’s decision to remove Iowa from the early state line-up“criticized Iowans, our values and our traditions,” Reynolds said.
“The RNC has never wavered in its commitment to our great state,” Reynolds said. “So let’s show them once again this year why Iowa should always be first in the nation.”
