Report: Kasich will enter 2016 race in July

Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) will enter the 2016 GOP presidential field in July, Politico reported late Sunday, quoting advisers.

{mosads}Kasich’s announcement will reportedly be made July 21 on the campus of The Ohio State University, his alma mater.

Politico reported that the former congressman will aim to appear less scripted and guarded than the leading Republican candidates.

During a Sunday appearance on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Kasich said only that he’s “getting awfully close to being able to make a decision.”

“I just want to do it if I think I have a path to win.”

Kasich also said his low poll numbers were because of his focus on the Buckeye State.

“I didn’t travel outside the state,” he said. “I didn’t go out and politick; what I wanted to do was fix Ohio.

”So we went from $8 billion in the hole to a $2 billion surplus, to a balanced budget, the largest tax cuts in the country and growing 360,000 jobs in the country with everyone having a chance. Now I can go out and tell my story and hopefully, the polls will rise,” he added.

Kasich also said on Sunday that everyone needs to “take a deep breath” following the Supreme Court’s decision on Friday legalizing same-sex marriage.

“I believe in traditional marriage, but the Supreme Court has ruled, and it’s the law of the land, and we’ll abide by it,” he said.

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“And I think everybody needs to take a deep breath to see how this evolves. But I know this, I mean, religious institutions, religious entities, you know, like the Catholic Church, you know, they need to be honored, as well. And I think there’s an ability to strike a balance.”

Kasich said the focus instead should be on “job growth, defeating poverty, healing the division between races, coming up with an immigration solution that is going to be fair and is going to help people.”