Tim Hutchinson

For the production designer, see Tim Hutchinson (production designer).

Tim Hutchinson
United States Senator from Arkansas
In office January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2003
Preceded by	David Pryor
Succeeded by	Mark Pryor
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arkansas's 3rd district
In office January 3, 1993 – January 3, 1997
Preceded by	John P. Hammerschmidt
Succeeded by	Asa Hutchinson
Personal details
Born	August 11, 1949 (1949-08-11) Bentonville, Arkansas
Nationality	American
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	(1) Donna Hutchinson (divorced) (2) Randi Fredholm
Alma mater	Bob Jones University University of Arkansas
Religion	Baptist

Young Timothy Hutchinson, known as Tim Hutchinson (born August 11, 1949) is a Republican politician and former senator from the state of Arkansas.

Hutchinson was born in Bentonville, Arkansas, and he graduated from Bob Jones University. He currently is a lobbyist and is a resident of Alexandria, Virginia.

Early political career

Hutchinson served in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1985 to 1992. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican in 1992, representing the 3rd District to succeed retiring incumbent John P. Hammerschmidt. He defeated a fellow Republican state lawmaker Richard L. Barclay of Rogers, also from Benton County. Hutchinson served in the House until 1997, after being elected to the United States Senate.

United States Senator

1996 election

Main article: United States Senate election in Arkansas, 1996

Hutchinson ran for the Senate seat being vacated by popular Democrat David Pryor in 1996. Initially, the leading Republican candidate was Lieutenant Governor Mike Huckabee. When Democratic Governor Jim Guy Tucker resigned after being convicted of mail fraud, however, Huckabee assumed the governorship and dropped out of the Senate race; Hutchinson entered soon after and captured the Republican nomination. He would face state Attorney General Winston Bryant in the general election. Even though native son Bill Clinton carried the state by a 17 point margin over Bob Dole in the presidential race, Hutchinson defeated Bryant 53%-47% to become the first Republican Senator from Arkansas since Reconstruction.

Tenure

His voting record was conservative: he is pro-life, supports tax cuts, supports de-regulation of the economy, supports the death penalty and a Constitutional amendment banning flag burning, opposes same-sex marriage, and opposes expanding hate crimes legislation.

He served on the Armed Services Committee, Aging Committee, Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, and Veterans' Affairs Committee. He was one of 16 co-sponsors of the Iraq Resolution (S.J.RES.46).

2002 election

Main article: United States Senate election in Arkansas, 2002

Hutchinson faced Arkansas Attorney General Mark Pryor, David Pryor's son, in his 2002 re-election campaign. During his term as U.S. Senator, Hutchinson had divorced his wife of almost three decades, Donna, now an Arkansas state representative, and married an aide in 2000. Hutchinson denied any impropriety, and Pryor refused to make the matter an issue in the campaign, but the well-publicized divorce substantially hurt his popularity. Pryor was also helped by the presence of his still popular father in a campaign commercial. Hutchinson lost to Pryor by eight points, making him the only Republican incumbent to be defeated that year.Jim Keet, the 2010 Arkansas Republican gubernatorial nominee, operated Hutchinson's Little Rock office for a time prior to 2002.

Post-political career

Hutchinson joined the Washington, D.C.-based law firm of Dickstein Shapiro in January 2003 as a senior adviser. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy.

Family

Hutchinson's younger brother, Asa, succeeded him as U.S. Representative from Arkansas's 3rd congressional district. Tim and Asa Hutchinson are both graduates of Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina, Class of 1972.

Hutchinson's identical twin sons, Jeremy and Timothy Hutchinson, were the first twins to serve alongside each other in the Arkansas General Assembly, both as members of the House of Representatives. Hutchinson is also the brother-in-law of Arkansas State Senator Kim Hendren who married Hutchinson's sister, Marylea, in 1958. Hendren was a candidate for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in the 2010 election. On May 18, he lost the primary to John Boozman.

External links

• Senate website archived by the Library of Congress
• Tim Hutchinson at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Hutchinson on the issues

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by John P. Hammerschmidt	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arkansas's 3rd congressional district 1993–1997	Succeeded by Asa Hutchinson
United States Senate
Preceded by David Pryor	United States Senator (Class 2) from Arkansas 1997–2003 Served alongside: Dale Bumpers, Blanche Lincoln	Succeeded by Mark Pryor
Party political offices
Preceded by No nominee in 1990 Ed Bethune in 1984	Republican Party nominee for United States Senator from Arkansas (Class 2) 1996, 2002	Succeeded by No nominee in 2008 To be decided in 2014