Ohio Gov. John Kasich said chances are “pretty good,” he’ll run for president, adding his name to the growing list of Republican candidates who will seek the nomination.
“At the end of the day, I feel pretty optimistic about things,” Kasich said on “Fox News Sunday,” adding that he’ll decide in “the next few months.”
Kasich has been traveling the country and has made three trips to New Hampshire, where the first primary in the nation will take place in 2016.
Kasich touted his tenure as governor, saying he has restored jobs, cut taxes and lifted people out of poverty.
“I feel like the message is working, of bringing people together,” Kasich said. “The results in Ohio give me a lot of credibility to be able to move forward. We are going to see how it goes.”
Kasich discounted a criticism that he is too moderate, despite his endorsement of policies many conservatives oppose, such as the Common Core education initiative and the expansion of Medicaid in Ohio.
Kasich said he won 86 out of Ohio’s 88 counties and noted the state is critical to winning the presidential election.
“I think it’s hard to question my conservative credentials,” Kasich said.
Kasich said if he runs for president, he’ll be a candidate who “sounds like an American” and not a politician.
“I’m a normal guy in a big job and I tell it like it is,” Kasich said. “And I tell it like it is mixed with the ability to say to people, ‘I want you to have a chance, I want you to have the American dream.’ America needs a change agent. Someone to restore this great nation of ours.”
