Asa Hutchinson
Asa HutchinsonREUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo

Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson announced on Sunday he will seek the Republican presidential nomination, reported The Associated Press.

Hutchinson called on former President Donald Trump to drop out of the race in wake of his indictment by a grand jury in New York, arguing “the office is more important than any individual person.”

Hutchinson, who announced his candidacy on ABC’s “This Week,” said he was running because “I believe that I am the right time for America, the right candidate for our country and its future.”

He added, “I’m convinced that people want leaders that appeal to the best of America and not simply appeal to our worst instincts.”

Hutchinson, in an interview with AP later Sunday, said it was important for voters to have an alternative leader and “not simply go by default to somebody who is really wrapped around what happened in the past.”

“I don’t think you have to be blustery. I think you can be honest and authentic, and that’s what I want to be able to offer,” he said.

Hutchinson said back in May that he is weighing a presidential run in 2024 and his decision won't be affected by whether Trump decides to join the race.

He joins a Republican field that also includes Trump, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

Florida Governor Don DeSantis has not yet announced a presidential bid, but has been actively preparing for a campaign and is widely expected to make a final decision later this year. Another potential candidate, former Vice President Mike Pence, has said he will make a decision “by the spring” about whether to seek the presidency in 2024.

Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are also among those considering bids.

Hutchinson, 72, left office in January after eight years as governor. He has ramped up his criticism of the former President in recent months, calling another Trump presidential nomination the “worst scenario” for Republicans and saying it will likely benefit President Joe Biden’s chances in 2024.

Hutchinson also criticized Trump for meeting with white nationalist leader Nick Fuentes and rapper Kanye West, who has praised Adolf Hitler and spewed antisemitic conspiracy theories. Hutchinson has contrasted that meeting to his own background as a US attorney who prosecuted white supremacists in Arkansas in the 1980s.