John Kasich ruled out increases in the federal minimum wage in Thursday night’s Republican debate, clarifying a stance on the issue that he had left ambiguous.
“I didn’t say I was for an increase in the federal minimum wage, I said in Ohio we increase it modestly every single year,” Kasich said in response to a question about his previous comments suggesting he might favor an increase in the federal minimum wage, currently set at $7.25 an hour.
“So I’m not for a federal minimum wage increase,” the Ohio governor stated.
In September, Kasich reportedly supported a “reasonable” federal minimum wage increase. He later added that he instead favored state-level action.
In Thursday night’s Fox News debate, however, Kasich appeared skeptical even that states should raise their wage floors.
“If states want to do it, they ought to sit down with businesspeople and the lawmakers and figure out what will work,” he said.
None of the other Republican candidates on the stage Thursday night backs an increase in the federal minimum wage.
The Democratic candidates, on the other hand, favor significant hikes in the minimum wage. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont senator, has sponsored legislation that would raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has proposed a $12 an hour minimum wage, and supports states and cities going beyond that rate.
