Governor John Kasich, of Ohio, will likely be the last major Republican to enter the 2016 presidential race. Kasich spoke today at his alma mater of Ohio State University to make the announcement.
Report from the New York Times:
Gov. John R. Kasich, a blunt-spoken and unorthodox Republican who bucked his party by expanding Medicaid under President Obama’s health care law and says politicians must “reach out and help those who live in the shadows,” announced Tuesday that he was joining his party’s long list of candidates for president.
Mr. Kasich, 63, became the 16th prominent Republican to enter the 2016 field. As a two-term governor in a critical swing state — no candidate since John F. Kennedy in 1960 has won the White House without winning Ohio — he is a credible candidate, though his late entry means he has catch-up work to do.
“I have decided to run for president of the United States,” he told a crowd at Ohio State University, his alma mater. “I have the skills, and I have the experience. I have the experience and the testing — the testing that prepares you for the most important job in the world.”
Mr. Kasich had been toying with running for months. By Tuesday morning, the faux mystery surrounding his candidacy was officially over even before his speech. The student union hall at Ohio State was festooned with “Kasich for America” banners, volunteers milled about in bright red “Kasich for Us” T-shirts and hundreds of eager supporters waited in the hot sun to get inside the hall.
Here is the campaign video put out to accompany Kasich’s announcement:
We’ll have Kasich’s full announcement speech as soon as video is available.
