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Ohio Gov. John Kasich needs a bump in polls soon if he’s to get GOP presidential nomination, some supporters say
YOUNGSTOWN
With Ohio Gov. John Kasich declaring today he’s officially running for the Republican nomination for president, some of his biggest supporters in the Mahoning Valley say he needs to rise in national polls relatively soon if his candidacy is to succeed.
“He needs to get a bump from this announcement,” said Mahoning County Republican Party Chairman Mark Munroe, who was appointed by Kasich to the Ohio State Racing Commission. “So much is riding on this. If you’re going to be president of the United States, you’ve got to move up in the polls. At some point that has to happen. You can’t sit at 2 percent. This is his opportunity to have a standout rollout.”
Munroe said Kasich is the most-experienced and well-rounded candidate in the Republican presidential field that will grow to 16 with his official announcement at Ohio State University. The event starts at 11 a.m. with Kasich to speak at 11:38,according to his campaign.
Kasich, who’s campaigned for months, is getting 1 percent to 2 percent of the vote in national polls of 2016 presidential candidates with a 1.5 percent average, according to RealClearPolitics.com. That puts Kasich in 12th place. Today, he’ll become the party’s 16th major candidate to declare.
Only the top 10 candidates in the polls will be at the party’s first presidential debate, sponsored by Fox News in Cleveland on Aug. 6.
“This is a pivotal time,” said Columbiana County Republican Party Chairman Dave Johnson, who was appointed by Kasich to the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation. “He’s going to get a big bounce off of this.
“He’s got a better resume than anyone else running.”
Kasich’s experience includes one term in the state Senate and 18 years in the U.S. House, including as chairman of the House Budget Committee when the federal government balanced the budget and operated with a surplus. He’s in his second term as governor.
“Someone with his resume is a serious candidate,” said Paul Sracic, chairman of Youngstown State University’s Department of Political Science. “He desperately needs an increase in his polling numbers. He’s got to make it in that first debate. It is crucial for him to be in that debate on Fox, where he used to work, and in Ohio, where he is governor. It’s tough to break through. [Kasich has] got that problem to overcome.”
Some Republican presidential candidates – notably New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal – who’ve recently announced saw no bump in the polls after their public declarations.
Thomas Humphries, president and chief executive officer of the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber appointed by Kasich to the Ohio Board of Regents, said, “The governor brings a lot of talent to the table. He’s also a genuine, caring and compassionate person.”
Humphries noted the governor expanded Medicaid under Obamacare as it provides benefits to the mentally ill and working poor.
But Humphries said Kasich “sometimes is a bull in a china shop. He’ll break some dishes, but at the end of the day, the job gets done.”
As for Kasich’s polling numbers, Humphries said, “It’s really early in the process. As more people get to see what [Kasich’s] beliefs are and his passion, he’ll attract attention.”
After today’s announcement, Kasich will travel to key early primary and caucus states through Saturday.
“I hope he spends a lot of time campaigning out of the state because he isn’t helping,” said state Rep. Michele Lepore-Hagan of Youngstown, D-58th. “He’s sitting on a $2 billion rainy-day fund while our infrastructure is crumbling.”
State Rep. Sean O’Brien of Bazetta, D-63rd, said Kasich is “one of their better choices, looking at the rest of the field. Kasich is a little bit less right wing than those crazy guys. He tries to be more of a moderate than most of their candidates. Looking at them, he’s got a pretty decent chance” to get nominated.
Ohio Senate Minority Leader Joe Schiavoni of Boardman, D-33rd, and Mahoning County Democratic Party Chairman David Betras disagree.
“Gov. Kasich isn’t going to be able to contend with a lot of the other candidates.” Kasich “tries to pretend he’s this normal everyday guy,” Schiavoni said. “The people who constantly say they’re everyday, normal guys are actually not.”
Betras said Kasich “owes what little credibility he has” to President Barack Obama, who saved the automobile industry and thus Ohio’s economy, and for taking federal funding for Medicaid.
Betras added that he hopes the national media takes a closer look at Kasich’s record including his “slavish devotion to the failed for-profits charter-school operators who fill his campaign coffers,” and “his decision to give tax breaks to the wealthy.”