Hutchinson predicts GOP contest will be a ‘late-deciding race’

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) shared doubt that former President Trump, the front-runner of the GOP presidential primary, will run away with a primary victory.

In a CNN interview Tuesday, Hutchinson said Trump’s lead may not be as big as it seems to people not talking to voters.

“I just came back from the Iowa, the Iowa State Fair, and what you see on the ground is not reflected in the polls,” he said.

“I think the voters in Iowa and other places are saying, ‘We’ve got to look at a different option,’ and those numbers will move in the late fall and early winter. This is going to be a late-deciding race, and part of it is they don’t know where they’re going to go,” he added.

Hutchinson will attend the first GOP debate in Milwaukee on Wednesday and will appear alongside the race’s top candidates — except for Trump, who decided to skip the event.

The second-worst-performing candidate in national polls to make the debate, Hutchinson said just making the stage was an accomplishment in itself. He plans to use the platform to go after the former president, even if he isn’t there, he said.

“I want to make sure we describe the challenge to win in 2024 with Donald Trump. That’s the case that has to be made, that we need a different direction for our party and for our country,” Hutchinson said.

Trump holds a large lead in national polls, taking about 52 percent of GOP support, while second place Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) holds about 15 percent. Hutchinson has about 0.7 percent support according to national polling averages, edging out North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who made the debate stage with 0.4 percent support on average.