How John Kasich could win in 2016

Kasich’s fortunes will depend to some extent on whether he can make it to the debate stage on August 6 in Cleveland.

According to a Real Clear Politics average of major polls, the Ohio governor is only polling at 1.5 percent and is in 12th place.

Gov. Kasich has insisted that his preoccupation about the failing Youngstown school system is triggered by his deep concern about the children.

Core to Kasich’s campaign pitch is the notion that putting an Ohioan on the ballot will help Republicans win back the White House. The group declined to say how much it put behind a second round of ads launched Tuesday, but called the investment “significant”.

– Chris Christie: The blunt-talking New Jersey governor, 52, wants to reform the tax system, broaden national energy policy and “re-establish American leadership” worldwide.

Late past year, Portman had himself been considering a presidential run. Asked at a New Hampshire forum to give three reasons Clinton would make a bad president, he declined and said briskly: “If I’ve got to spend my time trashing people to be successful in this, you can count me out”.

Shortly after he was elected to his first term in November 2011, Ohio Governor John Kasich managed to do something the AFL-CIO had been trying to do for decades.

Aides believe his candor will stand out in a debate.

Also this week, Kasich is expected to make trips to New Hampshire, Iowa, South Carolina and Michigan to try and whip up attention for the campaign.

Kasich took office facing a almost $8 billion shortfall and a statutory demand to get a budget through the legislature in six months.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) on Thursday took a dramatic step toward addressing the devastating toll the opioid epidemic has had on his state.

But even if Kasich can get out of New Hampshire with a win or a high finish, some in the party remain skeptical that he has broader appeal to Republican primary voters.

Kasich grew up Catholic but drifted away, renewing his faith after his parents were killed by a drunk driver in 1987. His allies at the political organization New Day for America reported raising $11.5 million on Kasich’s behalf before his entry into the race.

Mr. Kasich, 63 years old, is counting on his mix of executive and Capitol Hill experience to catapult him to contender status.

Kasich has demonstrated a willingness to buck his own party when practical: He departed from Republican orthodoxy to expand Medicaid in line with the federal health care law.

And despite Governor Kasich’s ridiculous (and debunked) claim that it’s being paid for with Ohio tax dollars from the federal pot (that would otherwise go to other states), in actuality, most of the costs are being tacked onto the federal debt. Can he assemble a strong team in New Hampshire, a state he sees as his best path to the nomination? “I can’t figure out who it would be”. He and his former wife did not have children.