Don’t underestimate Hillary Clinton, Ohio Gov. John Kasich says.
The Republican told CNN’s “State of the Union” he’s still weighing whether to jump into the hotly contested primary battle. Sens. Marco Rubio, Rand Paul and Ted Cruz have already declared their candidacies, and several more highly competitive Republicans are likely to jump in, too.
Whoever wins could face Hillary Clinton, currently the leading contender on the Democratic side. Asked whether the former secretary of state could defeat a Republican to win his state’s electoral votes next year, Kasich responded “sure she could.”
“I think anyone is capable [of winning], it’s just a matter of how they project themselves,” he said. He added that Clinton presents a real threat to whoever ends up winning the Republican nomination.
“She’ll be a very formidable candidate,” Kasich said. “I mean she’s having a lot of problems now, going to have to answer a lot of questions, but anybody that underestimates Hillary Clinton makes a mistake.”
If he runs, Kasich could face questions from conservative primary voters about some of his more moderate stances, including his support for Common Core education standards and his acceptance of Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act.
But Kasich insisted his positions won’t hurt him, although Republican primary elections often favor candidates further to the right
“I’m told by people my message is resonating,” he said. “I’m not changing my positions, I’m not changing my talk, I’m going to be who I am.”
Polls show Kasich hovering among the less popular potential GOP contenders, with support in the low single digits.
