John Kaisch ‘Virtually Certain’ To Be Running For President
Ohio Governor John Kaisch looks like he’ll be joining an already crowded Republican Presidential field:
John Kasich is “virtually certain” to jump into the race for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, sources close to the Ohio governor tell ABC News.
Kasich has said his wife and daughters have given him a green light to run and in recent days Kasich has told his political advisors to begin preparing for a likely campaign. Kasich travels to New Hampshire in early June and recently did a fundraising trip to California. If he makes the final decision to run, he will make the announcement in late June or July.
As a Republican elected twice as governor of the critical battleground state of Ohio, Kasich is a potentially formidable candidate. But he has also angered conservative Republicans with his decision to accept an expansion of the Medicaid program under Obamacare. He has also supported the Common Core educational standards, something derided by some conservatives as “Obamacore.”
On paper at least, there seems to be much that would recommend Kaisch to Republican voters. He’s a second-term Governor of a a state that isn’t just in the Midwest, but also happens to be one of the crucial swing states in the upcoming election. He was re-elected by a wide margin just last year in a state where Republicans seemed as though they had been mortally wounded after the ethically plagued Bob Taft Administration. And, thanks to his experience in Congress, he has a strong resume as a the kind of fiscal conservative that would appeal to many segments of the Republican Party. As noted, though, he’s also strayed from Republican orthodoxy during his time in Columbus, most notably on the issue of the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Additionally, my impression of him from media appearances is that he doesn’t exactly come across as passionate speaker on the stump, which is typically quite essentially if you want to get yourself noticed in a crowded field. At the moment, Kaisch is near the bottom of the pack in the national polls, and is not even a factor in the early state polls. If he does run, it’s hard to see how he breaks through.
I like Kasich because he expanded Medicaid and such and he seems reasonable. He has a hangup about getting a balanced budget amendment ratified and is promoting a Constitutional Convention to do it. This is a profoundly stupid policy and a convention is equally stupid.
He has said he won’t accept the VP slot, but I think he’ll change his mind if offered.
By the way, Doug, you said Kaisch instead of Kasich 7 times in the article and a couple of times on the home page. I only point it out because it’s misspelled in both the article title and the subject tag, which will mess up searches.
@DrDaveT: Which is probably why this is doomed to failure. Everyone’s going to be saying “John Who?”
If your last name is so easily misspelled don’t run for POTUS. This guy looks like your standard generic Republican which means he’ll be confused with everyone else.
Kasich is a somewhat reasonable Republican-which means he’ll have a tough time in this Republican primary. His big advantage is that he’s the governor of the all important state of Ohio. It will be interesting to see how he does on the campaign trial.
Where’s he going for money, that’s my question. Has he found a billionaire willing to buy him yet? Because he ain’t getting there off small donations, not up against the Koch and Adelson candidates.
The thing is that Mr. Bush’s money advantage plus this enormous field means he can lose Iowa, lose New Hampshire, lose South Carolina, and still keep going. If the GOP starts with 25 announced candidates they’ll still have a dozen running well into Super Tuesday, so there won’t be this huge wave of moral pressure for Bush to get out, he’ll be one of twelve, and he’ll have cash.
For Bush or Walker or Rubio I suspect this is a war of attrition, an electoral Vietnam where no victory parade is possible. This could actually go to the convention unless the Kochs or Adelson or Rubio’s billionaire call it quits.
Maybe. I entered john kasich in Google search and came up with this.
https://www.google.com/search?q=john+kaisch&nfpr=1&biw=1440&bih=682&source=lnms&sa=X&ei=sTZaVfe_GcblsAW13YGgBg&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAA&dpr=1
@ernieyeball:
I entered john kasich in Google search
No, you didn’t 🙂 You misspelled it in your search too.
@Mu:..I entered Um in google and got this!
http://qz.com/264312/um-heres-an-uh-map-that-shows-where-americans-use-um-vs-uh/
(I suppose since this is all reversed U live in the Pacific Northwest.)
@uM:..upon closer inspection I did type kasich in the 15:14 post above. However the URL in that post shows that I typed kaisch in the google search box.
Clearly Google is to blame.
Kasich, Kaisch…
From now on he will be JohnK to me.
Not to B confused with the creator of my heroes Ren and Stimpy!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Kricfalusi
@ernieyeball:
Um, no.
This map describes where Americans tweet um vs. uh — in text. Which is not at all the same thing. I, for instance, use ‘um’ in print (see above) to indicate the “…I don’t think that’s right…” hesitation. In speech, my South Midlands upbringing shines through, and I invariably say “uh”.
um, uh, oh…well I haven’t tweeted yet…
From what I can see here in OH John Kasich has heavy business backing and is big on cronyism, anti union, anti teacher, and tax cuts for the wealthy. Think Scott Walker with normal eyes and a three digit IQ.
It’s true that Kaisch is more of a “balance the budget” Midwest Republican of old rather than a free market huckster or religious fanatic or a gung-ho neocon, so he isn’t unelectable in a general election. Kaisch is the one Republican right now who has a fighting chance against Hillary, but the GOP nomination is going to be hell, so I have a bad feeling of his chances. He won’t get out of that unbloodied. And just like Webb with Hillary, he has a grim chance of survival against the Bush PAC machine. I don’t think it’s as hopeless as Webb’s quest is, but it’s still bad and probably gen election dooming against Hillary.
It’s a shame because he’s done a decent job in Ohio as governor. I lived there for a while in the late 2000s and the state was wracked with problems. He inherited a very crappy situation in 2011 as governor and has done a lot. However, that counts for little-the GOP nomination will force him to say a lot of things that Hillary can attack him with even if he gets through.