Gov. John Kasich says he’s “seriously considering” running for president again, and that he’d prefer to do so as a conservative Republican. But he’s been a vocal critic of President Trump and has reached out to national Democrats, so pundits have been suggesting that he’s a moderate Republican. The outgoing governor has some thoughts about where he stands in the political spectrum as he considers his next move.
Kasich said he’s not a moderate. “A moder – I don’t even know what that means. I’m a conservative, but my principles are in line with conservatism.”
He said he’s very conservative on spending, but also that conservatives should care about the mentally ill, environmental and climate change issues and certain gun regulations, which he says are common sense. He stresses he’s still strongly pro-life, but –
“I’m not some strident ideologue that has to follow some game plan published by somebody else.”
When the Tea Party was rising among Republicans as Kasich first ran for governor in 2010, he promoted his similar views. Kasich now says with its stances on trade, immigration and foreign policy, the Republican Party has left him, but he said – quote – “it’ll come back”.
(NOTE: the full interview with Gov. John Kasich, where he talks about Lordstown, graduation requirements, his plans for the future and his thoughts on politics, will air on "The State of Ohio" this weekend.)
