I have known John Kasich for 25 years. He’s my friend, my governor and was my colleague in Congress for a decade. However, my decision to back John Kasich is rooted in much more than those connections or Buckeye State pride. I am endorsing John Kasich because I believe he is the person our country needs to bring Americans together and deliver on a common sense, conservative approach to change.
My high regard for John’s conservative principles and his ability to follow through on them began with our work together in Congress, beginning in 1993. Acting on our shared commitment to balancing the federal budget and reining in government spending, John and I worked side-by-side on many issues. For much of that time, John was chairman of the House Budget Committee, which put him in a position to have a real, positive impact on the fight to cut costs and bring the federal budget under control.
The ultimate demonstration of his leadership came in 1997, when John was the driving force behind the hard-fought and ultimately successful effort to balance the federal budget. As a like-minded “budget hawk,” I am proud to have played a role in that truly historic victory. After all, a balanced budget was something no one had achieved for many years. As I’ve said: “John doesn’t only have the right ideas, he has the right stuff to make those ideas work.”
Based on our years together in Congress and my first-hand experience with John Kasich’s leadership, budget skills and political courage, I haven’t been the least surprised to see what he has been able to accomplish as the twice-elected governor of Ohio.
As a newly elected governor, John took over a state that his Democrat predecessor Ted Strickland had left in complete disarray: over 350,000 lost jobs, an $8 billion budget hole and 89 cents in the rainy day savings account. Ironically, Strickland thinks that underwhelming record has earned him a seat in the U.S. Senate and he’s running against me this year. He’s definitely not what Ohio and the nation needs.
Within months of his election in 2010, John Kasich had erased the budget hole into which Strickland had driven Ohio and John did it without raising taxes. In fact, he started a series of impressive tax-cutting moves that helped grow our economy. Those tax cuts and tax reform have continued into his second term. Over the years, John’s economic policies have driven Ohio’s comeback, giving the state’s taxpayers a net tax reduction of $5 billion, improving the state’s credit outlook and adding more than 350,000 new private-sector jobs. And for those keeping score: that near-empty rainy day fund now holds more than $2 billion.
John’s accomplishments haven’t been limited to budget balancing, job creation and tax reduction — impressive as those achievements may be. As governor, he’s also brought about major advances in education, health care cost-reform, mental health, prison reform, higher education tuition cost-containment and highway improvements. He’s also done impressive work in what for both of us is a key priority: fighting the lethal epidemic of drug abuse and addiction.
This year’s Republican primary offers voters an exceptionally wide — perhaps unprecedented — array of candidates with varying talents, accomplishments and strengths. But along with the strengths I’ve cited, John Kasich has an essential extra that sets him apart: he has consistently led and produced positive, conservative change that many others can only talk about.
For that reason, and for all I’ve stated here, I wholeheartedly endorse John Kasich as the next president of the United States. I urge you to carefully consider him. If you do, I think you will agree that, in a difficult time, when are country is divided and struggling through the weakest economic recovery since World War II, the never-give-up attitude that has helped John Kasich bring people together to deliver all his life is what America needs today.
