Arkansas Governor Thinks GOP Election Denial Is in Rearview Mirror

Election denial has been at the forefront of the national conversation surrounding Republican midterm candidates, but Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson thinks his party has moved past the claims of election fraud that proliferated after the 2020 presidential election.

Republican candidates have been repeatedly asked about their previous comments questioning the legitimacy of the election and whether or not they would accept the results of their own if they lose. The focus on election denialism has forced some candidates to walk back remarks and others to walk a fine line when discussing the midterms.

Hutchinson is no stranger to balancing support for the GOP while remaining firm that the party move on from former President Donald Trump, whom he has said "disqualified himself" for running again for the White House.

Although the governor has publicly criticized fellow Republicans who tried to overturn the 2020 election and been supportive of the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot, Hutchinson also backed gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano in Pennsylvania this year.

Mastriano, who was on Capitol grounds that day and promotes Trump's claims about the 2020 election, has vowed to decertify voting machines in counties in which he thinks results were rigged. If elected, Mastriano could have a key role in the battleground state's election system because Pennsylvania's governor appoints the secretary of state.

But when asked about his support for candidates who have cast doubt over the electoral process, Hutchinson told Newsweek that he thinks Republican candidates have switched over to a different "winning message."

"I think there's a diminishing number of candidates that are out there talking about the 2020 election," he said over the phone Wednesday. "The candidates have, to their credit, understood what's on the minds of the voters, which is inflation, energy costs and crime. So, that's what they've moved to talk about, and that's a winning message. That's how you win elections."

However, recent comments from a number of GOP gubernatorial candidates have undermined Hutchinson's outlook.

Over the weekend, Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake refused to say she'd accept a loss, telling CNN: "I'm going to win the election and accept the result." Mastriano and his lieutenant governor running mate, Carrie Lewis DelRosso, have also declined to answer if they would concede next month's election if they lose. "We're not going to lose," DelRosso told an ABC affiliate last week. "I'm a winner."

Speaking from Bentonville, Arkansas, where Hutchinson is hosting the inaugural "America Leads: An Ideas Summit," the governor said that while ballot security should be addressed, security provisions should be left up to each state rather than used as a nationwide rallying call.

"I think Republicans ought to be talking about trying to get more people to vote, that should be an objective, and to do it in a way that guarantees the integrity of ballots," he said.

To Hutchinson's point, the GOP has ramped up its focus on rising inflation and crime in the weeks leading up to the midterm elections, and polling suggests that the efforts have worked to sway voters worried about the economy and public safety.

A Monday poll from the New York Times/Siena College found that voters who were most concerned about the economy favored Republicans overwhelmingly by a margin of more than 2-to-1, and found the GOP with a 4-point lead on the generic congressional ballot.

"I do expect to win the House and I'm more optimistic about the Senate than I was four months ago," Hutchinson said. "I think you can see a pathway to actually picking up a seat, but it's still very unpredictable."

He said that should Republicans take control of Congress this year, they need to focus on holding the Biden administration accountable on federal spending and ensuring that the White House pays attention to "the core issues of border security and inflation and violent crime."

"The Biden administration's border policy has been a disaster in just about every way," he said. "I think the administration is tone deaf on this and I think they're placating their progressive left, and they're not taking the steps that are necessary to secure the border. It takes a tough policy and they're not willing to do it."

Hutchinson, who has called withdrawing funds for Ukraine a "mistake," said that while he believes the U.S. should continue to deliver aid, "it's fair to talk about how much, what is it they need.

"Those are fair points of discussion, but the fundamental principle is that we need to support Ukraine, and America needs to lead," he added. "We need to be there every step of the way because it is about Ukraine's sovereignty and their freedom.

"But it's also about the broader world in which we live and restraining an aggressive Russia that could pose a threat to an even greater extent down the road if we don't win in Ukraine."