Former Gov. Asa Hutchinson endorses ranked choice voting
This month, former Arkansas Governor and Republican presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson endorsed ranked choice voting (RCV) on The Purple Principle podcast.
Hutchinson highlighted how politicians must appeal to more voters to win:
I don’t see [ranked choice voting] as weakening the parties as much as forcing the candidates to say, ‘we’ve got to appeal to a broad swath of the American electorate,’ and that to me is the benefit from it. That the parties can adjust and operate within whatever election structure you give them, but it will cause the candidates to have a broader appeal – and that to me is what is needed.
He also noted that he wasn’t always a believer in RCV, but has since come around to it.
Asa Hutchinson, who previously served in Congress and in the George W. Bush administration as head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, is just the latest major official to endorse RCV. Statewide elected officials like Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, and U.S. Senators Mitt Romney and Joe Manchin, have likewise announced their support for RCV in recent months. Conservative commentator Charlie Sykes also endorsed RCV in an appearance on The Purple Principle.
Hutchinson ran for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination alongside over a dozen other candidates. The primary was characterized by negative campaigning, “zombie votes” cast for candidates who had already dropped out, and accusations that certain candidates were “spoilers.” It was a textbook example of an election that RCV could have improved – incentivizing positive campaigns, preventing zombie votes, and freeing voters from voting strategically.
To support the ranked choice voting movement, join an RCV group in your state today.
