By Steve Brawner

This is the part of the calendar when elected officials often are more worried about campaigning than governing. That’s not the case with Gov. Asa Hutchinson – not yet, anyway.

Hutchinson’s apparent peace of mind – with the campaigning part of his job, anyway – was reflected during an Oct. 17 sit-down with reporters. With the Republican primary half a year away, he might have used the occasion to toss red meat to the base. Instead, he talked policy. He stated his opposition to using general revenues for highways. He also offered assurances that his Arkansas Works health program would not be harmed by President Trump’s ending some subsidies for insurance companies.

That’s boring government stuff, not campaign stuff.

Why is Hutchinson so comfortable with the state of his campaign? Several reasons. Continue reading Why is this man so comfortable? →

By Steve Brawner

Advantages don’t guarantee success, but they certainly help, and so far Gov. Asa Hutchinson has more than a million of them.

Hutchinson had raised $1.3 million as of July 18 for his re-election campaign, which will be against whomever the Democrats can convince to run against him and the Libertarian candidate. He still had almost $1.2 million on hand at the time.

And the Democrats will find someone. For a political party in Arkansas to remain on the ballot without having to gather signatures, it must win 3 percent in the presidential or governor’s race, depending on which year it is. Democrats can’t do that without a candidate. The longer it takes to find one, the bigger the fundraising gap will be, unless the candidate is independently wealthy and willing to spend his or her own money. It happens, but not very often.

Continue reading Governor Hutchinson already has a million advantages →