After failing to make the threshold for Wednesday night’s Republican presidential debate, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said if he does not make the next debate, it may be time to fold the tent and give up.
Hutchinson had the unenviable distinction of being the only GOP presidential candidate who qualified for the August debate in Milwaukee but did not qualify for the second debate, held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.
The third debate is scheduled for Miami in early November.
“If I don’t make that, we’ll reevaluate where we are,” Hutchinson said, according to Fox Business.
Hutchinson was asked if that meant he would consider dropping out. “Sure,” he replied.
“You got to think of it as a bye week in the NFL. You don’t play every weekend, you know, necessarily participate in every debate. And so there’ll be another debate that will be coming up down the road. And I hope, certainly hope to participate in that,” Hutchinson said, according to KHSB-TV.
One requirement for the next debate is to achieve at least 4 percent support in the polls. A survey of recent polling results posted on Real Clear Politics showed Hutchinson varying between 1 percent support and 0.
“Four percent shows progress, and it will show that we’re passing others as well,” Hutchinson said, according to Fox Business. “That’s the goal that I have. If I don’t make that, we’ll reevaluate where we are.”
After learning he would not make the second debate, Hutchinson said he was planning to soldier on.
“I understand that the RNC and the media are trying to reduce the number of candidates, but I measure success based on the response I receive in early primary states like Iowa and New Hampshire. My goal is to increase my polling numbers to 4 percent in an early state before Thanksgiving. If that goal is met, then I remain competitive and in contention for either Caucus Day or Primary Day,” he said.
On Wednesday, he expressed optimism.
“I expect to be able to do that through my campaigning in Iowa, New Hampshire, some of the early states. This is still a reach. It’s still a retail political environment. And if I’m not in the debate today, I’ll be in Iowa taking it straight to the voters.”
On Wednesday, the Ask Asa AI interface, a chatbot designed to give Hutchinson’s positions on issues, debuted, according to Arkansas Online.
When the newspaper tried to use it to learn Hutchinson’s favorite member of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the bot demurred.
“Rather than discussing my favorite member of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, I would love to hear your thoughts on the challenges our country is currently facing,” the bot said.
Andrew Dowdle, a University of Arkansas professor, said the bot is innovative, but it may not have much impact.
“How do you end up generating enough interest in terms of people being willing to go to the site?” he asked.
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