Kasich makes case for White House bid

Ohio Gov. John Kasich was relaxed and confident on Thursday as he made the case to a Washington, D.C., audience about why he believes he could win the Republican presidential nomination if he runs.

Kasich argued that he’s the only potential candidate with a record in three critical areas: He led the effort to balance the budget as a member of the House in the 1990s; he left politics to gain experience in the private sector; and he returned to the political fray to oversee the economic turnaround of a swing state as governor of Ohio.

{mosads}“I’m the most experienced, period,” Kasich told reporters following his appearance at The Atlantic Summit on the Economy at the Capital Hilton.

“It’s experience and a record,” he added. “It’s not what I want to do, it’s what I’ve done. That’s what people need to look at if I decide to do it.”

The Ohio governor has been making recent moves toward a White House run.

This week, Kasich and his allies launched a political committee to assist in fundraising as he seeks to raise his national profile. The group, called New Day for America, can raise unlimited funds to pay for travel and other expenses the Ohio governor incurs as he travels the country testing the presidential waters.

The Republican had been traveling the country to promote a balanced budget amendment, and in recent weeks he has narrowed his focus to the early-voting states. 

Last weekend, Kasich was in New Hampshire for a gathering of potential GOP contenders, where he urged Republicans in the state not to “commit too soon” to any candidates to give him time to make a decision.

On Thursday, Kasich laid out in detail why he believes GOP primary voters will give him a look.

Kasich noted that he was a congressman for 18 years who served on the Armed Services Committee, saying he had “a whole lifetime now of national security interests and experience.”

He also pointed out that he was the Budget Committee chairman for 10 years, “and that was the last time we balanced the budget.”

Kasich said he left political life for a decade to work in the private sector before taking the governor’s office at a time when Ohio was “$8 billion in the hole” and losing private sector jobs.

He touted the economic turnaround of the Buckeye State under his leadership, saying there’s now a $2 billion surplus and a more diverse economy that isn’t wholly reliant on the manufacturing sector.

“That’s a big-time place to be an executive,” Kasich said. “You’ve got 11.5 million people, you have tremendous diversity. Look, Ohio is a microcosm of the country.”

Kasich won a landslide reelection in Ohio, a presidential battleground state, in 2014, and he has generated some buzz in conservative circles in recent weeks. He is beloved by some for his unapologetic, straight-talking style, which was on full display at the economic forum.

“What, are we going to tailor our messages depending on who we’re talking to?” Kasich said Thursday. “That’s what’s wrong with this country.”

Still, Kasich lacks national name recognition and is buried deep in the polls behind a huge field of other potential contenders. According to a CNN/ORC poll released on Monday, Kasich is tied for 11th place in the GOP field with three others, at 2 percent support.

“I’m not going to run if I’m not going to win,” Kasich said Thursday. He declined to offer a timeline for his decision despite repeated questions.

Instead, he seemed to relish his role as a potential candidate with nothing to lose.

“Look, I don’t need to just go around and do this,” Kasich said. “I’m not looking to sell a book. I’m not looking for a television show. So you go out you get a sense of, do people like you … and I’ve been very, very encouraged and frankly humbled, by the chance to get out and get the reaction that I’m getting.”