Fourteen Republicans have already declared they’re running for president.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich might soon join them.
The Buckeye State’s top Republican courted support in Middle Tennessee Thursday, as he tests the waters for a potential run for the White House next year.
Traveling with his teenage daughters, Kasich made stops at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the education nonprofit SCORE. He also met with Republican leaders at the state Capitol and took questions at a meet-and-greet event in Franklin organized by Williamson Inc., the county’s chapter of the Chamber of Commerce.
One of the biggest issues Kasich faces is how to stand out in a crowded field of Republican contenders. He says he spends little time worrying about.
“Anybody watch Fox News the other night?” Kasich asked the audience at Williamson Inc. “Was that OK? I don’t know, I guess I could have taken my shirt off, but then I would have lost viewers.”
Before becoming Ohio’s governor in 2011, Kasich was an investment banker at Lehman Brothers and a congressman. He’s one of the few Republican governors who’s agreed to expand Medicaid.
Kasich presents himself as the pragmatic son of blue-collar workers, who puts “empathy” ahead of ideology.
“I mean, let’s forget the Constitution for a second,” Kasich said in response to a question about presidential overreach, “and let’s get people to kind of like one another, OK? What makes America great is we can fight all day long but at the end, we reach agreement and we move forward as a nation.”
Kasich says he’ll announce July 21 whether he’ll jump into the race. If he does, he says he’ll pay close attention to Tennessee.
The state is taking part in what pundits are calling the “SEC Primary” — a day of elections across the Southeast that could make or break many campaigns.
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