Why this former Republican presidential candidate is at the Democrats' 2024 convention

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2024 Republican presidential candidate parachutes into the Democratic National Convention.

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who ran for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, speaks with Fox News Digital at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

CHICAGO — It's a sight you wouldn't expect to see.

A longtime Republican who ran for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination making the rounds at the Democratic National Convention.

But that's the case for former two-term Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

"I’m doing media. I’m not here to endorse the Democratic nominee," Hutchison said in an interview this week with Fox News Digital. "This is my first Democratic convention."

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The United Center in Chicago is packed on the first night of the Democratic National Convention as President Biden addresses the crowd on Monday. (Fox News - Paul Steinhauser)

But Hutchinson, who waged an unsuccessful long-shot bid last year for the Republican nomination, shared, "I did go on the floor to see the Arkansas Democratic delegation here, and I want you to know that lightning didn’t strike and so everybody was safe."

Asked if he felt out of place among a sea of Democrats, Hutchinson said "a little bit, but at the same time, this is well reflective of American democracy that I’m greeted with a friendly fashion… This is a good part of politics that you can disagree but still be here and be welcomed."

The former governor remains a very vocal GOP critic of former President Trump, who crushed Hutchinson and the rest of the field of challengers to cruise to the party's nomination. 

Former President Trump gestures during a campaign rally at the North Carolina Aviation Museum & Hall of Fame in Asheboro, North Carolina, on Wednesday. (Peter Zay/AFP via Getty Images)

Asked how he'll cast his ballot in the presidential election, Hutchinson said he's going to "write in a candidate, a good Republican candidate. It’s important to me to be a Republican and support the Republican cause."

But he added, "We need to define it differently than Donald Trump and the rule of law is important to me. I said on the debate stage I’m not going to vote for a convicted felon. That still holds true."

THE VICE PRESIDENT'S BIG NIGHT AT THE DEMOCRATS' CONVENTION

Since Vice President Kamala Harris a month ago replaced President Biden atop the Democrats' 2024 ticket, Trump has repeatedly slammed the vice president as a far-left politician.

Hutchinson, pointing to a controversial plan by Harris to ban price gouging, said that in order to appeal to independent voters and dissatisfied Republicans, the vice president needs "to persuade them [voters] that her economic policy is not so far left and the argument about price controls is doing damage to her.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Aug. 19, 2024. (Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images)

"She needs to make clear that when she talks about her economic policy it’s a fight against price gouging, which attorneys general do all across America, and not price controls. She needs to make that clear either in her convention speech or elsewhere."

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He emphasized that "if you want to get independents, if you want to get swing voters and even some Republicans, you’ve got to show an economic policy that makes sense for America and doesn’t scare people."

Hutchinson, a former federal prosecutor who later served in Congress and in Cabinet-level positions in President George W. Bush's administration, dropped out of the White House race in January, the day after he finished a distant sixth in the Iowa caucuses.

Asked whether there's another political chapter in his long career, he said, "I hope so."

"But right now I really want to teach. I’ll be teaching at the University of Arkansas Law School next semester. I’ll be doing some things on college campuses beyond that," he shared. "We’ll see what happens in the future."

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.