GREENLAND, N.H. — Ohio Gov. John Kasich slammed the super political action committee supporting his White House bid Monday for attempting to air an ad that would have attacked fellow Republican presidential hopeful Marco Rubio.
“I woke up this morning and I heard they were going to put a negative ad on television and I was outraged about it,” Kasich told voters during a town hall at a local country club.
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But, as Kasich noted, federal election laws prohibit campaigns from coordinating with outside support groups. Thus, several of his staffers took to Twitter to voice their direct or indirect disapproval of the ad.
“The people in my campaign basically ripped their heads off in the Twitter world,” Kasich said.
“And I am here to tell you I am basically thrilled that they have not put that [ad] on the air and are putting up a positive ad instead,” he added.
The controversial ad, by New Day for America, highlighted Rubio’s vote against reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act in 2013, while touting Kasich’s and New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte’s records of voting in favor of reauthorization. Shortly after announcing the ad’s release Monday, the PAC decided to pull it from the airwaves in the wake of backlash from Kasich’s campaign and Ayotte.
“I’ll tell you, why don’t we finish the last week with people saying what they’re for rather than beating each other up?” Kasich said Monday, before encouraging Govs. Chris Christie and Jeb Bush to remove their own negative attack ads.
“Take it off the air, folks,” he said. “Put what you’re for on the air so [voters] can make a good judgement in the last week of this campaign.”
Following the Iowa caucuses, New Hampshire is the next state to cast their ballots in the first-in-the-nation primary on Feb. 9.
