The 2016 Presidential Candidates: John Kasich
John Richard Kasich is currently serving as the 69th Governor of Ohio. The 63 year old Kasich elected as Governor in in 2010 and reelected in 2014, On July 21, 2015, he announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for president in 2016 at an event at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.
Kasich was born in McKee's Rocks, Pennsylvania, (a suburb of Pittsburgh.) He attended Ohio State University, and in 1978, he was elected to serve as State Senator for Ohio's 15th senatorial district, serving one term. Kasich served nine terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Ohio's 12th congressional district from 1983 to 2001. While in the House he served for 18 years on the House Armed Services Committee and 6 years as chairman of the House Budget Committee. He was a key figure in passage of both welfare reform and the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 during the administration of President Bill Clinton. He was a commentator on Fox News Channel, hosting Heartland with John Kasich from 2001 to 2007. He also worked as an investment banker, as managing director of Lehman Brothers' Columbus, Ohio office.
In April 2015, he had announced the formation of the "New Day For America" group, which later filed as a super PAC in July 2015. Between April 20 and June 30, 2015, the super PAC raised over $11.1 million, which included 34 contributions of $100,000 or more. Major contributors to the PAC include Floyd Kvamme, who donated $100,000, Philip Geier Jr., who donated $500,000, and Jim Dicke, chairman emeritus of Crown Equipment Corporation, who donated $250,000. In May 2015, sources close to Kasich told reporters that he was "virtually certain" to run for the Republican nomination for President. On July 21, 2015, Kasich announced his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination during a speech at the Ohio Union, the student union of his alma mater, the Ohio State University.
In Real Clear Politics most recent posting of average poll results, Kasich ranks 9th among Republican candidates with an average of 3.8% support.
Following are some of Kasich's position on some of the issues:
Abortion: In June 2013, Kasich signed into law a state budget which included anti-abortion measures such as mandating that any woman seeking an abortion to have a trans-abdominal ultrasound, and barring abortion providers from entering into emergency transfer agreements with public hospitals. The bill also removed $1.4 million in federal dollars from Planned Parenthood and provided funding to crisis pregnancy centers, which do not provide abortion referrals. Since 2011, Governor Kasich has signed 16 anti-abortion measures into law.
Environmental Issues: Kasich has acknowledged that climate change is real and is a problem, but he said that the Environmental Protection Agency should not regulate carbon emissions. Instead states and private companies should be in charge of regulating coal-fired power plant emissions. In 2015, Kasich stated that he was unsure what causes climate change. In 2014, Kasich signed into law a bill freezing Ohio's renewable portfolio standard (RPS) program for two years. The program, created under 2008 legislation, required the state to acquire 12.5 percent of its energy portfolio from renewable sources and to reduce energy consumption by 22 percent by 2025. In his 2015 budget plan, Kasich proposed raising the tax rate on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) activities. Kasich formerly supported fracking in Ohio state parks and forests, signing legislation in mid-2011 creating a commission to oversee the leasing of mineral rights on state land to the highest bidders. But Kasich never appointed the commission, after the plan attracted criticism from state environmental. Kasich is the supporter of the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline project.
Capital punishment: Kasich had presided over the executions of twelve inmates and commuted the death sentences of five inmates. In January 2015, Kasich announced that, due to pending litigation and other issues, he was delaying all seven executions scheduled through January 2016. The most recent execution in Ohio occurred in January 2014. Kasich granted 66 of 1,521 requests for executive clemency, about 4.4 percent of the non-death-penalty cases he received and acted upon from 2011 to 2014. This was the lowest clemency rate of any Ohio governor since records have been kept.
Criminal justice issues: Kasich favors fewer mandatory minimum sentences and has instituted prison policies that prepare inmates for re-integration into communities. In 2011, Kasich signed sentencing reform legislation which allowed judges to sentence defendants convicted of non-violent fourth- and fifth-degree felonies to "community-based halfway house facilities" instead of prison. He expanded the earned credit system to allow inmates to reduce their sentences; and allowed felons who have already served 80 percent or more of their sentenced to be immediately released. Hi 2015 state budget included $61.7 million for addiction treatment services for prisoners. Ohio's prison system's recidivism rate is one of the lowest in the nation.
Marijuana: Kasich is opposed to medical marijuana and is "totally opposed" to the legalization of recreational marijuana in Ohio. He has said "If I happened to be president, I would lead a significant campaign down at the grassroots level to stomp these drugs out of our country." Asked about whether he would federally enforce marijuana laws in states which have legalized marijuana, Kasich said "I'd have to think about it."
Economic policy: During Kasich's tenure as governor, Ohio has eliminated a budget shortfall of between $6 and $8 billion. The state's "rainy day fund" has increased from zero to more than $2 billion. Kasich signed a state budget in 2011 which eliminated the state's estate tax effective January 1, 2013. In 2013, Kasich signed into law a $62 billion two-year state budget which provided for a 10-percent state income tax cut phased in over three years, and an increase in the state sales tax from 5.5 percent to 5.75 percent. It also included a 50% tax cut for small business owners on the first $250,000 of annual net income. The 2015 budget provides a 6.3 percent state income-tax cut as a part one component of a $1.9 billion net tax reduction and lowers the top income-tax rate to slightly below 5 percent.
Labor issues: Kasich's 2015 budget prohibits independent health care and child care workers under contract with the state from unionizing. He rescinded executive orders issued by his predecessor that provided the right to home health care contractors and in-home child care contractors to collectively bargain with the state.
Education: During Kasich's tenure as governor, he pushed to expand charter schools, increase the number of school vouchers that use public money to pay for tuition at private schools, implement a "merit pay" scheme for teachers, and evaluate teachers by student standardized test scores in math and reading. During Kasich's tenure, funding for traditional public schools declined by about $500 million, while funding for charter schools has increased at least 27 percent. In the 2015 state budget, Kasich used his line-item veto power "to cut more than $84 million of funding from public schools."
Foreign and defense policy: In November 2002, Kasich urged the invasion of Iraq, telling a crowd of students at Ohio State University: "We should go to war with Iraq. It's not likely that (Saddam) Hussein will give up his weapons. If he did he would be disgraced in the Arab world." But in an August 2015 interview, Kasich said: "I would never have committed ourselves to Iraq." A Kasich campaign spokesman later said that "Kasich was not revising history" but was instead saying that the Iraq War was a mistake given the facts available now. In the same interview, Kasich said that the U.S. "should've left a base in Iraq" instead of withdrawing troops in 2011. Kasich has also said that airstrikes are insufficient to combat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, and he would send U.S. ground troops to fight ISIL.
LGBT rights: While in the U.S. House of Representatives, Kasich voted for the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, which barred federal recognition of same-sex marriage. Kasich supported a ban on same-sex marriage in Ohio and stated that he did not approve of the "gay lifestyle." In June 2015, following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, which held that there is a fundamental right to same-sex marriage under the Fourteenth Amendment, Kasich said that he was "obviously disappointed" and that he believes in "traditional marriage." He said that the ruling was "the law of the land and we'll abide by it" and that it was "time to move on" to other issues. Kasich saidd that he did not support an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to overturn the decision. In the highly publicized case of Kim Davis (who as County Clerk refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in a Kentucky county), Kasich said, "Now, I respect the fact that this lady doesn’t agree but she’s also a government employee, she’s not running a church, I wouldn’t force this on a church. But in terms of her responsibility I think she has to comply. I don’t think —I don’t like the fact that she’s sitting in a jail, that’s absurd as well. But I think she should follow the law."
Health care: Kasich opted to accept Medicaid expansion funding provided by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare") in Ohio. In an October 2014 interview, Kasich said that repeal of the ACA was "not gonna happen" and stated that "opposition to it was really either political or ideological. I don't think that holds water against real flesh and blood, and real improvements in people's lives." But Kasich later said that he was referring solely to the law's Medicaid expansion, and that "my position is that we need to repeal and replace" the rest of the law. Kasich has expressed support for many provisions of the ACA (ensuring coverage for people with preexisting conditions, the use of insurance exchanges, and Medicaid expansion), but opposes mandates.
Immigration: Kasich has said that he supports amending the Constitution to abolish the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee of birthright citizenship for people born in the United States. In 2014 however Kasich expressed openness to a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. He told a Republican Governors Association meeting in Florida, "I don't like the idea of citizenship when people jump the line, we may have to do it." In August 2015, Kasich called for a path to legal status (not necessarily citizenship) for undocumented immigrants and for a guest worker program. He called for completion of a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Voting rights: In February 2014, Kasich signed into law a bill which cut six days from Ohio's early voting period. The measures passed on a party-line vote, with Republicans in favor and Democrats opposed. This measure prompted two federal lawsuits, resulting in a settlement in April 2015, in which the state agreed to provide evening and Sunday hours for early voting in elections in Ohio through 2018. The second lawsuit is still pending. In April 2015, Kasich used his line-item veto power to veto a provision added to a highway-budget bill by Republicans in the state legislature that would have required college students who register to vote in Ohio to obtain a state driver's license and vehicle registration. The veto was applauded by voting rights advocates, Ohio Democrats, and the Cleveland Plain Dealer editorial board.
Kasich was born in McKee's Rocks, Pennsylvania, (a suburb of Pittsburgh.) He attended Ohio State University, and in 1978, he was elected to serve as State Senator for Ohio's 15th senatorial district, serving one term. Kasich served nine terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Ohio's 12th congressional district from 1983 to 2001. While in the House he served for 18 years on the House Armed Services Committee and 6 years as chairman of the House Budget Committee. He was a key figure in passage of both welfare reform and the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 during the administration of President Bill Clinton. He was a commentator on Fox News Channel, hosting Heartland with John Kasich from 2001 to 2007. He also worked as an investment banker, as managing director of Lehman Brothers' Columbus, Ohio office.
In April 2015, he had announced the formation of the "New Day For America" group, which later filed as a super PAC in July 2015. Between April 20 and June 30, 2015, the super PAC raised over $11.1 million, which included 34 contributions of $100,000 or more. Major contributors to the PAC include Floyd Kvamme, who donated $100,000, Philip Geier Jr., who donated $500,000, and Jim Dicke, chairman emeritus of Crown Equipment Corporation, who donated $250,000. In May 2015, sources close to Kasich told reporters that he was "virtually certain" to run for the Republican nomination for President. On July 21, 2015, Kasich announced his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination during a speech at the Ohio Union, the student union of his alma mater, the Ohio State University.
In Real Clear Politics most recent posting of average poll results, Kasich ranks 9th among Republican candidates with an average of 3.8% support.
Following are some of Kasich's position on some of the issues:
Abortion: In June 2013, Kasich signed into law a state budget which included anti-abortion measures such as mandating that any woman seeking an abortion to have a trans-abdominal ultrasound, and barring abortion providers from entering into emergency transfer agreements with public hospitals. The bill also removed $1.4 million in federal dollars from Planned Parenthood and provided funding to crisis pregnancy centers, which do not provide abortion referrals. Since 2011, Governor Kasich has signed 16 anti-abortion measures into law.
Environmental Issues: Kasich has acknowledged that climate change is real and is a problem, but he said that the Environmental Protection Agency should not regulate carbon emissions. Instead states and private companies should be in charge of regulating coal-fired power plant emissions. In 2015, Kasich stated that he was unsure what causes climate change. In 2014, Kasich signed into law a bill freezing Ohio's renewable portfolio standard (RPS) program for two years. The program, created under 2008 legislation, required the state to acquire 12.5 percent of its energy portfolio from renewable sources and to reduce energy consumption by 22 percent by 2025. In his 2015 budget plan, Kasich proposed raising the tax rate on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) activities. Kasich formerly supported fracking in Ohio state parks and forests, signing legislation in mid-2011 creating a commission to oversee the leasing of mineral rights on state land to the highest bidders. But Kasich never appointed the commission, after the plan attracted criticism from state environmental. Kasich is the supporter of the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline project.
Capital punishment: Kasich had presided over the executions of twelve inmates and commuted the death sentences of five inmates. In January 2015, Kasich announced that, due to pending litigation and other issues, he was delaying all seven executions scheduled through January 2016. The most recent execution in Ohio occurred in January 2014. Kasich granted 66 of 1,521 requests for executive clemency, about 4.4 percent of the non-death-penalty cases he received and acted upon from 2011 to 2014. This was the lowest clemency rate of any Ohio governor since records have been kept.
Criminal justice issues: Kasich favors fewer mandatory minimum sentences and has instituted prison policies that prepare inmates for re-integration into communities. In 2011, Kasich signed sentencing reform legislation which allowed judges to sentence defendants convicted of non-violent fourth- and fifth-degree felonies to "community-based halfway house facilities" instead of prison. He expanded the earned credit system to allow inmates to reduce their sentences; and allowed felons who have already served 80 percent or more of their sentenced to be immediately released. Hi 2015 state budget included $61.7 million for addiction treatment services for prisoners. Ohio's prison system's recidivism rate is one of the lowest in the nation.
Marijuana: Kasich is opposed to medical marijuana and is "totally opposed" to the legalization of recreational marijuana in Ohio. He has said "If I happened to be president, I would lead a significant campaign down at the grassroots level to stomp these drugs out of our country." Asked about whether he would federally enforce marijuana laws in states which have legalized marijuana, Kasich said "I'd have to think about it."
Economic policy: During Kasich's tenure as governor, Ohio has eliminated a budget shortfall of between $6 and $8 billion. The state's "rainy day fund" has increased from zero to more than $2 billion. Kasich signed a state budget in 2011 which eliminated the state's estate tax effective January 1, 2013. In 2013, Kasich signed into law a $62 billion two-year state budget which provided for a 10-percent state income tax cut phased in over three years, and an increase in the state sales tax from 5.5 percent to 5.75 percent. It also included a 50% tax cut for small business owners on the first $250,000 of annual net income. The 2015 budget provides a 6.3 percent state income-tax cut as a part one component of a $1.9 billion net tax reduction and lowers the top income-tax rate to slightly below 5 percent.
Labor issues: Kasich's 2015 budget prohibits independent health care and child care workers under contract with the state from unionizing. He rescinded executive orders issued by his predecessor that provided the right to home health care contractors and in-home child care contractors to collectively bargain with the state.
Education: During Kasich's tenure as governor, he pushed to expand charter schools, increase the number of school vouchers that use public money to pay for tuition at private schools, implement a "merit pay" scheme for teachers, and evaluate teachers by student standardized test scores in math and reading. During Kasich's tenure, funding for traditional public schools declined by about $500 million, while funding for charter schools has increased at least 27 percent. In the 2015 state budget, Kasich used his line-item veto power "to cut more than $84 million of funding from public schools."
Foreign and defense policy: In November 2002, Kasich urged the invasion of Iraq, telling a crowd of students at Ohio State University: "We should go to war with Iraq. It's not likely that (Saddam) Hussein will give up his weapons. If he did he would be disgraced in the Arab world." But in an August 2015 interview, Kasich said: "I would never have committed ourselves to Iraq." A Kasich campaign spokesman later said that "Kasich was not revising history" but was instead saying that the Iraq War was a mistake given the facts available now. In the same interview, Kasich said that the U.S. "should've left a base in Iraq" instead of withdrawing troops in 2011. Kasich has also said that airstrikes are insufficient to combat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, and he would send U.S. ground troops to fight ISIL.
LGBT rights: While in the U.S. House of Representatives, Kasich voted for the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, which barred federal recognition of same-sex marriage. Kasich supported a ban on same-sex marriage in Ohio and stated that he did not approve of the "gay lifestyle." In June 2015, following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, which held that there is a fundamental right to same-sex marriage under the Fourteenth Amendment, Kasich said that he was "obviously disappointed" and that he believes in "traditional marriage." He said that the ruling was "the law of the land and we'll abide by it" and that it was "time to move on" to other issues. Kasich saidd that he did not support an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to overturn the decision. In the highly publicized case of Kim Davis (who as County Clerk refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in a Kentucky county), Kasich said, "Now, I respect the fact that this lady doesn’t agree but she’s also a government employee, she’s not running a church, I wouldn’t force this on a church. But in terms of her responsibility I think she has to comply. I don’t think —I don’t like the fact that she’s sitting in a jail, that’s absurd as well. But I think she should follow the law."
Health care: Kasich opted to accept Medicaid expansion funding provided by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare") in Ohio. In an October 2014 interview, Kasich said that repeal of the ACA was "not gonna happen" and stated that "opposition to it was really either political or ideological. I don't think that holds water against real flesh and blood, and real improvements in people's lives." But Kasich later said that he was referring solely to the law's Medicaid expansion, and that "my position is that we need to repeal and replace" the rest of the law. Kasich has expressed support for many provisions of the ACA (ensuring coverage for people with preexisting conditions, the use of insurance exchanges, and Medicaid expansion), but opposes mandates.
Immigration: Kasich has said that he supports amending the Constitution to abolish the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee of birthright citizenship for people born in the United States. In 2014 however Kasich expressed openness to a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. He told a Republican Governors Association meeting in Florida, "I don't like the idea of citizenship when people jump the line, we may have to do it." In August 2015, Kasich called for a path to legal status (not necessarily citizenship) for undocumented immigrants and for a guest worker program. He called for completion of a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Voting rights: In February 2014, Kasich signed into law a bill which cut six days from Ohio's early voting period. The measures passed on a party-line vote, with Republicans in favor and Democrats opposed. This measure prompted two federal lawsuits, resulting in a settlement in April 2015, in which the state agreed to provide evening and Sunday hours for early voting in elections in Ohio through 2018. The second lawsuit is still pending. In April 2015, Kasich used his line-item veto power to veto a provision added to a highway-budget bill by Republicans in the state legislature that would have required college students who register to vote in Ohio to obtain a state driver's license and vehicle registration. The veto was applauded by voting rights advocates, Ohio Democrats, and the Cleveland Plain Dealer editorial board.