Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party, commonly referred to as the GOP (abbreviation for Grand Old Party), is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, the other being its historic rival, the Democratic Party.

Founded by anti-slavery activists, modernists, ex-Whigs, and ex-Free Soilers in 1854, the Republicans dominated politics nationally and in the majority of northern States for most of the period between 1860 and 1932. There have been 18 Republican presidents, the first being Abraham Lincoln, who served from 1861 until his assassination in 1865, and the most recent being George W. Bush, who served from 2001 to 2009. The most recent Republican presidential nominee is former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, who lost in 2012 to Democratic incumbent Barack Obama.

Although it is named after republicanism, that concept is no longer widely used. Instead republican ideals have been incorporated into the concept of conservatism, which serves as the ideological core of the party. This conservatism contrasts with the modern liberalism of the Democrats. The Republican Party's conservatism involves support for free market capitalism, free enterprise, business, a strong national defense, deregulation, restrictions on labor unions, social-conservative policies (particularly opposition to abortion), and traditional values, usually with a Christian foundation. The party is deeply split on the issue of how to deal with illegal immigration.

Asa Hutchinson

William Asa Hutchinson (born December 3, 1950) is an American politician who has been the 46th Governor of Arkansas since 2015. Previously he was U.S. Attorney for the Fort Smith-based Western District of Arkansas, U.S. Congressman from the Third District of Arkansas, Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the first Undersecretary for Border & Transportation Security at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. In 2006, Hutchinson was the Republican candidate for governor of Arkansas and lost to Democrat Mike Beebe, the outgoing state attorney general. In 2014 Hutchinson was again the Republican nominee for Governor, this time winning the election over Democrat Mike Ross to become Governor of Arkansas.

Early life and legal career

Hutchinson was born in Bentonville, Arkansas, U.S., the son of Coral Virginia (Mount) Hutchinson (1912–1998) and John Malcolm Hutchinson, Sr. (1907–1991). He earned his bachelor’s degree from Bob Jones University in South Carolina in 1972, and graduated from the University of Arkansas School of Law in 1975. He practiced law in Fort Smith for 21 years and handled more than 100 jury trials. In 1982, Hutchinson was appointed by President Ronald Reagan as U.S. Attorney for the United States Western District of Arkansas. At the age of thirty-one, Hutchinson was the youngest U.S. Attorney in the nation and made national headlines after successfully prosecuting The Covenant, The Sword, and The Arm of the Lord (CSA), a white supremacist organization founded by polygamist James Ellison. The CSA forced a three-day armed stand-off with local, state and federal law enforcement. As U.S. Attorney, Hutchinson put on a flak jacket and personally negotiated a peaceful conclusion to the stand-off.