LITTLE ROCK—Asa Hutchinson has come out of political hiding.

Ending an apparent self-imposed exile from Arkansas’ political stage, the former congressman and failed gubernatorial candidate is keeping himself busy — and in the news.

He’s helping the Republican Party prepare for the 2010 election by researching the campaign finances of Democratic officeholders. He’s asking for donations to his political action committee, A Safer America— or ASA, for short.He wants you to know he opposes raising the state’s tax on natural gas production and supports more equitable sentencing for crack cocaine offenders. And, just in case you were wondering, he doesn’t want fellow Arkansan Mike Huckabee in the White House anymore.

What he doesn’t want you to know, yet, is what he’s back in the spotlight for.

Hutchinson’s increased activity more than a year after his loss in the 2006 governor’s race against Mike Beebe has raised eyebrows and speculation that he’s planning a new political future.

“After election night in 2006, I think most people thought that was the end of his electoral career,” say Jay Barth, a political scientist at Hendrix College and a member of the Democratic Party’s state committee. “Clearly his desire to be involved in public service is still there.”

It’s only been over the past few weeks that Hutchinson’s re-entry into politics has come out, with the former congressman chairing a “2010 committee” for the state Republican Party. Hutchinson said he was approached by the party shortly before the state’s Feb. 5 presidential primary to head up the group, in part to prepare for the 2010 election.

At the same time, Hutchinson sent out a fundraising appeal on behalf of his political action committee, formed to help local and state candidates. The letter sounded like a rerun of Hutchinson’s stump speeches, with calls for increased immigration enforcement and a complete elimination of the state’s sales tax on groceries.

In the letter, Hutchinson addressed his disappearance from the public stage, writing: “I can assure you I have not fallen off the edge of the Earth.

“It would be easy to sit back and simply enjoy the blessings of life, but I know you share the belief that we should also be making a difference in the arena of life in which God has placed us,” Hutchinson wrote.

He’s also injected himself into the debate over the state’s severance tax, insisting that increasing the tax on natural gas production would hurt the economy and discourage exploration in the Fayetteville Shale natural gas formation.

It’s a stance that would pit him against his old rival Beebe, who wants to increase the tax to pay for road improvements — and against fellow failed Republican gubernatorial hopeful Sheffield Nelson, who’s trying to put his own severance tax increase on the ballot.Hutchinson, who also announced he was switching his endorsement in the White House race from Huckabee to presumptive nominee John McCain, insists there are no ulterior motives for his recent activities. When asked about the severance tax, he said he’s like anyone else who reads the paper and has an opinion he wants to share.

“It’s just been a sequence of events lately,” Hutchinson said. “I’ve been trying to work, but other things also come up.”

It’s hard to see what signs of hope Hutchinson could find for the future, based on his past. His 14-point loss to Beebe in 2006 was his third defeat in a statewide election. He also lost a 1986 Senate race and a bid for attorney general in 1990.A rematch against Beebe seems unlikely, and Hutchinson has little time or money to prepare for a run against Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor, who’s seeking re-election this year. There’s no sign that Hutchinson is contemplating a run against U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln, who is seeking re-election in 2010 and is viewed as more vulnerable to a serious Republican challenge than Pryor. It’s possible that Hutchinson, a former U.S. attorney and federal Homeland Security department official, is keeping his name out front in case McCain wins the GOP nomination and the White House in November.

Hutchinson’s moves could also show he’s ready to return to a familiar role, one of a potential savior for a Republican Party struggling to rebuild itself. For three years, he chaired the state party after co-chairing it with Nelson.

State GOP Chairman Dennis Milligan said he thinks Hutchinson’s timing is coincidental and not an indication he’s going to make another run for office. Milligan said he’s glad to have Hutchinson helping the party again.“Obviously he’s a proven commodity and he’s a capable and intelligent individual with a multiple track record in state government and national government,” Milligan said. “We always would be interested seeing Asa Hutchinson involved.”



DeMillo covers Arkansas government and politics for The Associated Press.