Ohio Gov. John Kasich has not formally announced a run for higher office, but his travel schedule suggests his likely presidential campaign is a poorly kept secret.
In the latest sign that he will likely launch his presidential bid later this month, Kasich visited South Carolina on Monday, and will visit Michigan today before heading to New Hampshire Wednesday.
Kasich, who traveled to Nevada and Mitt Romney’s Summit in Utah late last week, appears to be canvassing the country to meet voters nationwide as opposed to focusing on any one of the Republican Party’s early nominating contests.
Later this week, he will come to Washington, D.C., for the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s Road to the Majority event. The event begins Wednesday and runs through Saturday, and allows many social conservatives to see the presidential candidates in action. Kasich has used his faith to explain his controversial decision to expand Medicaid through Obamacare.
“When you die and get to the meeting with St. Peter, he’s probably not going to ask you much about what you did about keeping government small, but he’s going to ask you what you did for the poor,” Kasich said in 2013. “Better have a good answer.”
Kasich will also need a good answer for Republican primary voters to explain his support for a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants, and the controversial tax increases he has authorized as governor. His recent hire of veteran GOP consultants that tried to unseat South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley could also hurt him, especially in the Palmetto State’s primary.
Kasich’s brand of compassionate conservatism has yet to help him gain traction in national polls — he hovers around 2 percent support in RealClearPolitics’ average of polls — but has won him some supporters. MSNBC’s Chris Matthews has repeatedly expressed his desire to get Kasich on the presidential ticket of either the GOP or Democratic Party.
