PORTLAND, MAINE – Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican who has served as the chairman of the National Governors Association (NGA) for the past year, told the New Jersey Globe today that he’s had a good relationship with New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, his vice chair who will take over the top job tomorrow.
“He’s been a good partner,” Hutchinson said. “That’s how you work together in America. You find common ground. The governors are still a working group that can accomplish things, that’s what governors are about.”
The NGA, which is tasked with representing the interests of America’s 55 state and territorial governors, traditionally trades off between Republican and Democratic leaders year-to-year. Unlike the Democratic and Republican Governors Associations, the NGA is a bipartisan organization that does not involve itself in political campaigns.
Interestingly, Murphy was designated as the NGA’s chairman-in-waiting last June, before he won re-election in what proved to be a tight race against Republican Jack Ciattarelli. When the leadership roster was announced, Hutchinson had kind words for Murphy’s tenure as governor despite the fact that his party was simultaneously attempting to litigate that record and bring Murphy down.
“Gov. Murphy showed a steady hand of leadership during the pandemic and has proven he can work across the aisle to get things done,” Hutchinson said at the time.
Hutchinson said today that he backs Republican candidates for office, but that he still stands by his praise for Murphy.
“I support the Republican nominee,” he said. “But that’s part of America, and it’s part of being a human being: that you recognize good qualities that you can see in people, even though you disagree fundamentally and you’re on a different team. I think that’s needed in America today, that we actually can speak civilly about those we disagree with.”