Ohio Governor John Kasich, seeking to emerge from a crowded Republican presidential field as a practical and compassionate leader from a must-win swing state, is expected to formally announce Tuesday that he’s running in 2016.
Advertisement
As a presidential candidate, his announcement of the creation of a boarding school in Youngstown under the auspices of the state of Ohio would separate him from the GOP pack – again.
Kasich already made his intentions known about a run for the office.
Even so, he signaled early on that he wasn’t interested in piling on Clinton, the leading Democratic contender, or President Barack Obama, a ritual nearly as ingrained as the pledge of allegiance at Republican gatherings.
Kasich says if he has to trash people to win, count him out.
Following Tuesday’s announcement in Columbus, Kasich will hit the road again with events scheduled in New Hampshire, South Carolina, Iowa and Michigan the rest of the week. In a Wall Street Journal/NBC News sample january, only 25per cents of Republican main electorate said they will consider themselves boosting Mr. Kasich; 42percent didn’t know his name.
Now in his second term as governor, Kasich earlier spent nine terms in Congress, ending in 2001, where he served on both the Armed Services and Budget committees.
Kasich grew up Catholic but drifted away, renewing his faith after his parents were killed by a drunk driver in 1987.
And despite the controversy that followed Kasich’s move to privatize the state’s economic development arm and shield it from public records requests, economists have said the organization deserves credit for recruiting major companies such as General Electric at The Banks and Amazon in Central Ohio.
More than 4,400 people have RSVP’d for Kasich’s launch rally, including talk show host Montel Williams, who tweeted a photo of himself with the governor Monday, saying: “Can’t afford amateur hour any longer”. Meanwhile, ad makers were releasing the newest Kasich ad that’s slated to take the air in New Hampshire this week. In 2014, Kasich won reelection in a landslide, carrying 86 of the 88 counties in a state that will be critical in determining the outcome of the 2016 election.
“Some in the race can say they have national security strengths”.
“It’s critical for him to get into that debate, just like it’s critical for everyone, so he’ll be looking for a short-term boost from his announcement”, said Republican pollster David Winston, a veteran of Newt Gingrich’s 2012 campaign.
When Kasich lists his accomplishments, Ohioans often respond with: “Yeah, but…” He will also be competing for news coverage with other low-polling Republicans trying to get noticed around the country. Kasich and Bush have taken heat for their support of Common Core, a set of education standards that many GOPers (including Rick Perry and Marco Rubio) have denounced as a federal encroachment into the classroom.
Advertisement
On his watch in Ohio, multibillion shortfalls have been replaced by a $2 billion surplus.
