Gov. John Kasich says he’ll prove the detractors wrong and be elected president

July 22, 2015 at 12:05a.m.

COLUMBUS

Saying he’s beaten the odds his entire political career, Ohio Gov. John Kasich vowed to do the same in his bid for president.

“They said it couldn’t be done. We proved them wrong again,” Kasich, a Republican, said numerous times Tuesday at Ohio State University during a nearly 45-minute speech that sometimes went off on tangents, as the governor has done at times during State of the State addresses.

Kasich, the 16th Republican candidate to announce for the 2016 presidential election, said he’d bring his heartland sensibilities and big ideas to the national stage. It’s been known for months that Kasich would run. He made the decision public Tuesday.

“I have decided to run for president of the United States,” Kasich told a cheering, chanting, sign-waving crowd of supporters. “I believe I do have the skills, and I have the experience and the testing – the testing, which shapes you and prepares you for the most important job in the world.”

He added, “I believe I know how to work and help restore this great United States.”

The formal announcement capped months of speculation, fueled by out-of-state visits by Kasich to early primary and caucus states. After Tuesday’s announcement, Kasich left for New Hampshire, where he’s frequently campaigned. He also will make stops in South Carolina, Iowa and Michigan through Saturday.

Kasich will have to jockey for position quickly to qualify for the first Republican presidential debate Aug. 6 in Cleveland, with the top 10 candidates in national polls to be picked to participate. Kasich is currently in 12th place in polls.

The governor acknowledged that people say, “I don’t know if he can win,” but “together we’ll prove them wrong again.”

Democrats criticized Kasich’s performance in office, pointing to local government cuts and tax policies that they said benefit wealthy residents.

U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Howland, D-13th, who backs Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton for president, said: “After seeing firsthand how John Kasich has led Ohio over the last five years, it is unbelievable that he thinks he should be president of the United States. Throughout his career as a member of Congress, a Wall Street banker and Ohio’s governor, John Kasich has proved many times that he will always put the desires of the wealthy and special interests before the needs of the middle class.”

Dave Johnson, Columbiana County Republican chairman and a Kasich backer who attended the event, said the governor “did a fantastic job as I expected he would. John Kasich has a homespun style of speaking. One of the themes woven throughout was people have been betting against him his entire life and no one thinks he can win the presidency and he will. It was a great message. It was a terrific start.”

Mahoning County Republican Chairman Mark Munroe, who also backs Kasich and attended the speech, said, “As I watched the governor, I was struck by how fortunate the country is to get the talents of John Kasich in the White House. He’s strong, tough. He’s a listener. His message was: Through hard work, you can change the world.”

Kasich used the event to offer his credentials for the White House and to outline his priorities if successful in next year’s Republican primary and general election.

He talked about the importance of “very big ideas,” reciting his past electoral successes at the Ohio Statehouse and in Congress.

He also referenced policy decisions by his gubernatorial administration to help needy residents.

“If you’re drug-addicted, we’re going to try to rehab you and get you on your feet,” he said. “If you’re mentally ill, prison is no place for you. Some treatment and some help is where you need to be. If you’re the working poor, we’re going to give you an opportunity to take a pay raise and not bang you over the head because you’re trying to get ahead.”

Those experiences and others, he said, position him well to serve as the nation’s chief executive.

Kasich provided a snapshot of his national priorities, including increased support for the armed forces, the elimination of burdensome and unnecessary regulations and, at the top of the list, a balanced federal budget.

On national security, he said, “I’m a person that doesn’t like to spend a lot of money, but in this case, national security climbs to the very top of the heap, because we must be strong.”

On over-regulation: “We’ll tame the bureaucracy, we’ll restore some common sense,” and “get rid of all those stupid rules.”

On a balanced federal budget: “I promise you that my top priority will get this country on a path to fiscal independence, strength, and we will rebuild the economy of this country because creating jobs is the highest moral purpose, and we will move to get that done.”

Kasich also called for more national unity. He refrained from criticizing other presidential candidates directly.

“There are some that will try to divide us – we see it all the time,” he said. “I don’t pay attention to that nonsense. At the end of the day, it’s about being together because, you know, it says, ‘We The People.’”

He added, “I’m just a flawed man” who is “trying to honor God’s blessings in my life. ... The light of the city on a hill cannot be hidden. America is that city, and you are that light.”