Tim Hutchinson
He broke a century of Democratic dominance in Arkansas to become the state's first Republican senator since Reconstruction.
Born 1949 (age 77)·American politician·Birthday: August 11·Baby Boomers
Biography
Tim Hutchinson's political career is a marker of the Republican Party's deepening roots in the American South. A former pastor and professor, he entered politics as a state legislator in Arkansas, a state where GOP victories were rare. His 1992 election to the U.S. House was a surprise; his 1996 leap to the Senate was a seismic shift. For the first time in over 120 years, an Arkansas voter could cast a ballot for a Republican senator, and Hutchinson became that man. In Washington, he compiled a consistently conservative record, advocating for tax cuts, opposing abortion rights, and supporting a strong national defense. His single term coincided with the Clinton impeachment trial, where he voted to convict the president from his home state. Defeated in 2002, his tenure nonetheless paved the way for a lasting Republican presence in Arkansas, demonstrating that the state's politics were no longer a Democratic monolith.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Tim was born in 1949, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Tim Was Born
The biggest hits of 1949
#1 Movie
Samson and Delilah
Best Picture
All the King's Men
#1 TV Show
Texaco Star Theatre
Tim's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1949Born
NATO founded; Mao proclaims the People's Republic of China
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Riders in the Sky" — Vaughn MonroeBest Picture: All the King's Men
1954Started school
Brown v. Board of Education desegregates US schools
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $8,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Little Things Mean a Lot" — Kitty KallenBest Picture: On the Waterfront
1962Became a teenager
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1965Could drive
US sends combat troops to Vietnam
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,600Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" — The Rolling StonesBest Picture: The Sound of Music
1967Could vote
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1970Turned 21
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1979Turned 30
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1989Turned 40
Berlin Wall falls; Tiananmen Square protests
Gas: $1.00/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Look Away" — ChicagoBest Picture: Driving Miss Daisy
1999Turned 50
Columbine shooting; Y2K panic builds
Gas: $1.17/galHome: $113,900Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Believe" — CherBest Picture: American Beauty
2009Turned 60
Michael Jackson dies; Bitcoin created
Gas: $2.35/galHome: $148,500Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Boom Boom Pow" — The Black Eyed PeasBest Picture: The Hurt Locker
2019Turned 70
First image of a black hole; Hong Kong protests
Gas: $2.60/galHome: $224,400Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Old Town Road" — Lil Nas XBest Picture: Parasite
2026Age 77 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Elected in 1996 as the first Republican U.S. Senator from Arkansas since the post-Civil War Reconstruction era.
- Served on the Senate Armed Services Committee and was a vocal advocate for veterans' affairs.
- Was a key figure in Arkansas's political realignment, helping build a viable two-party system in the state.
Did You Know?
Before politics, he was an ordained Baptist minister and taught at a small Christian college.
His brother, Asa Hutchinson, later became Governor of Arkansas.
He lost his 2002 re-election bid to Democrat Mark Pryor.
“Our principles must guide our votes, not the other way around.”
