Asa Hutchinson was born on December 3, 1950, in Bentonville, Benton County, Arkansas.
Hutchinson graduated from Bob Jones University with a bachelor's in accounting in 1972. He earned a JD from the University of Arkansas School of Law in 1975.
Hutchinson then practiced law in Northwest Arkansas, including serving as the city attorney for Bentonville from 1977 to 1978, until he was appointed the United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas by President Ronald Reagan in 1982. He held that position until 1985.
After an unsuccessful 1986 run for Senate, Hutchinson returned to private law practice with Karr & Hutchinson in Fort Smith. He was co-chair and later chairman of the Arkansas Republican party from 1990 to 1995, and in 1996 was elected to the US House of Representatives, then reelected for two more terms. While in Congress, he served as one of the House managers during Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate.
During the George W. Bush administration, Hutchinson served as Administrator of the DEA from 2001 to 2003 and as Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Border and Transportation Security from 2003 to 2005. After a loss to Mike Beebe in the 2006 Arkansas governor’s race, Hutchinson returned to private practice, where he remained until 2014.
In 2014, Hutchinson became the forty-sixth governor of Arkansas after defeating Democrat Mike Ross. He served two terms as governor, leaving office in 2023. In 2024, he mounted an unsuccessful campaign for the Republican nomination for President of the United States.
#1: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with Asa Hutchinson at the Pryor Center; Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2025
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#2: Asa Hutchinson with his family (l-r) son, Asa; son, Seth; wife, Susan; daughter, Sarah; and son, John Paul; during his campaign for US Senate, 1986
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#3: Campaign brochure for Asa Hutchinson for Attorney General, 1990
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#4: Asa Hutchinson portrait, ca. early 1990s
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#5: Asa Hutchinson (left) with National Federation of Independent Business president Jack Farris, Washington, DC, June 1997
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#6: Asa Hutchinson (left) with Bill Clinton, 1999
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#7: Asa Hutchinson (2nd from left) with Bill McCollum (far right) at a military base in Colombia; ca. 1999
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#8: Asa Hutchinson (left) with Ken Starr
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#9: Asa Hutchinson (2nd from right) with impeachment committee members Ed Bryant, James Rogan, and Bill McCollum , 1999
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#10: Asa Hutchinson in political cartoon holding "Articles of Impeachment," 1999
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#11: Asa Hutchinson (right) with Jim Rogan at a press conference during Bill Clinton's impeachment hearings, US Capitol, Washington, DC; 1999
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#12: Asa Hutchinson with Jane Seymour, ca. 1999
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#13: Asa Hutchinson (left) with Fred Graham, US Capitol, Washington, DC; 1999
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#14: Asa Hutchinson (left) with President George W. Bush at the Daisy Bates Memorial service in Little Rock, Arkansas; April 27, 2000
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#15: Asa Hutchinson (right) with Clint Eastwood, Washington, DC, May 2000
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#16: Republican Congressmen Sam Johnson (TX), Duke Cunningham (CA), James E Rogan (CA), John Shadegg (AZ), and Asa Hutchinson (AR), Pasadena California; August 26, 2000
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#17: Asa Hutchinton (center) with his wife, Susan, and Sam Waterston; 2000
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#18: Asa Hutchinson (right) with (l-r) General John Ashcroft, Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson, Judge Morris "Buzz" Arnold, And Susan Hutchinson at Asa Hutchinson's swearing in as administror of the Drug Enforcement Administration; Aug 2001
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#19: Asa Hutchison with comedian Chris Rock after a filming of Bill Maher's Politically Incorrect, 2002
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#20: Asa Hutchinson (left) with Don Milton, ca. 2002
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#21: Asa Hutchinson (2nd from right) with DHS committee members (l-r) Mike Garcia, director of ICE; James Loy, director of TSA; and Robert Bonner, the first director of CBP; 2003
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#22: Asa Hutchinson (center) with constituents at the Stuff Mart, Cave Springs, Arkansas
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#23: Brochure from Asa Hutchinston's campaign for governor, 2006
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#24: Asa Hutchinson (right) with his wife, Susan, and John McCain, Arkansas State Capitol, Little Rock, Arkansas,
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#25: Asa Hutchinson (left) with Martin Sheen, National Harbor, Maryland; July 18, 2011
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#26: Asa Hutchinson with his wife, Susan, and cat, Snowflake; Governor's Mansion, Little Rock, Arkansas, Christmas 2020
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#27: Jon Kennedy cartoon featuring Asa Hutchinson, 1986
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#28: George Fisher cartoon featuring Asa Hutchinson, August 1986
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#29: Jon Kennedy cartoon featuring Asa Hutchinson
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#30: Mark Wood cartoon featuring Asa Hutchinson
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#31: George Fisher cartoon featuring Asa Hutchinson, 1986
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#32: Jon Kennedy cartoon featuring Asa Hutchinson
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#33: Jon Kennedy cartoon featuring Asa Hutchinson
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#34: Behind-the-scenes photo from Pryor Center interview with Asa Hutchinson at the Pryor Center; Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2025
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#35: Behind-the-scenes photo from Pryor Center interview with Asa Hutchinson at the Pryor Center; Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2025
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#36: Behind-the-scenes photo from Pryor Center interview with Asa Hutchinson at the Pryor Center; Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2025
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#37: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with Asa Hutchinson at the Pryor Center; Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2025
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#38: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with Asa Hutchinson at the Pryor Center; Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2025
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
