Fifteen major presidential candidates remain in the Republican field, including some who have never held public office, ran for an election or had much involvement in GOP politics. But it’s Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who has decades of experience holding elective office as a Republican, that admitted his reservations about running for president.
Kasich shared his reluctance to launch his campaign at a town hall of New Hampshire voters on Tuesday.
“I didn’t really think I would [run for president],” Kasich said. “Because I was kind of taking care of business in Ohio and it was really a mess.”
While Kasich said he did not think he would run for president this cycle, he may have found comfort knowing that he had already done so in 1999 and a super PAC supporting his candidacy began running ads in the Granite State before he formally announced his campaign launch.
Amid sliding poll numbers early this fall, pro-Kasich super PAC New Day for America reportedly doubled its ad buy in New Hampshire, meaning it would spend $1.5 million in October alone. And while the super PAC looks to persuade voters with targeted televised ads, Kasich returned to the “Live Free or Die” state to try and charm voters one at a time.
On Tuesday, Kasich urged voters to applaud a Democrat that showed up at his event.
“Congressman Swett [a Democrat] who’s here with us today, you know this is home, he deserves a round of applause for his work in Washington please,” Kasich urged the silent crowd. “I don’t care what party you’re in. Come on. Let me some applause. Look we can’t be a place in America where we can’t find common ground with people who may not always share our philosophy or party preference. We’re not a parliamentary system like they have in England.”
Kasich looked to win over other liberal-leaning voters at his event, as demonstrated by his response to a question about “climate change” that included his advocating for “clean coal.” On Monday, the governor spoke at a New Hampshire event hosted by No Labels, which is a group aimed at bridging the partisan divide. The event’s organizers were spotted removing empty seats just before the governor started speaking. Kasich, who ranks seventh in the Washington Examiner‘s most recent power rankings, has fallen out of the top five GOP candidates in New Hampshire.
