Ohio Governor, and 2016 Presidential candidate, John Kasich announced that he is looking to leave the Republican Party and is considering running as a solo candidate.
During his appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Kasich was asked by host Jake Tapper if Roy Moore – the republican candidate for Senate from Alabama, after a special primary election to replace Jeff Sessions – is the sort of candidate that represents the future of the Republican Party. Apparently, no fan of Moore, or the grassroots tsunami that helped him surge to primary victory, Kasich exclaimed, “I certainly hope not!”
When asked if the Republican Party is in support of Moore’s campaign, Kasich replied, “Well, look, I don’t run the party.”
And stated, “I can tell you for me, I don’t support that. I couldn’t vote for that. I don’t know what the heck I would have to do, but I don’t live in that state.”
The controversy surrounding Moore concerns his time on the Alabama state Supreme Court. He was removed the state Supreme Court, twice. Once for defying a federal district judge’s order to remove a monument to the 10 Commandments that Moore had installed on the court’s ground. And again, after securing his seat again, Moore was removed after defying the Supreme Court’s 2015 ruling to legalize gay “marriage.”
“We spend a lot of time talking about, you know, all the trouble in the Republican Party,” Kasich continued. “I have no idea what the Democrats are for. It is unbelievable. Which is why polls are now beginning to show a support for independent candidacies, more than ever in our history. People are getting fed up with all of this kind of nonsense,” he added.
He went on to state that he is “trying to do is struggle for the soul of the Republican Party, the way that I see it” and expressed that he believes that “the party can be fixed.”
“If the party can’t be fixed, Jake, then I’m not going to be able to support the party, period, that’s the end of it,” he argued. “I mean, I’m worried about our country and my kids’ future. I am worried. But have I given up? Of course not.”
Tapper even brought up the question of Kasich looking to run as an independent. However, Kasich continued to emphasize that “we need to fix” the Republican Party. He stated, “If our party — if the Republican Party is going to be anti-immigration, if it’s not going to be worried about debt, if it’s going to be — if it’s going to be anti-trade, this is not where our party can be.”
“So I’m going to fight like everything I have to make sure — it’s why I’m on these shows because I want this party to be straightened out. But I not only want the party to be straightened out, I want the country to be straightened out,” he added.