Voinovich to Kasich: Stay in

But former senator says Kasich should tweak message.

Credit: Molly Riley

Credit: Molly Riley

To those urging Gov. John Kasich drop out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination, former Sen. George V. Voinovich, R-Ohio, has a quick answer: “Hell no.”

Predicting Kasich will win the March 15 Ohio Republican presidential primary against Donald Trump, Voinovich said in an interview Wednesday, “People are waking up to the fact that … John is the most qualified candidate we have for president. I believe he should stay in there,” adding Kasich would defeat former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the November election.

But Voinovich also called on Kasich to fine-tune his message. While Voinovich likes Kasich’s emphasis on his role as a member of the U.S. House in a 1997 budget compromise that helped end three decades of annual deficits, the former senator said Kasich “needs to take the job he did on the budget and bring it up to date.”

Voinovich said the reason is clear: Americans are increasingly fearful their children will not enjoy the same standard of living they have had. Kasich should hammer home the theme that reducing the deficit will result in higher incomes for younger people while simultaneously preserving long-term Social Security benefits, Voinovich said.

Voinovich believes the message would resonate with voters, though he acknowledged there would be “some short-term pain for long-term gain.”

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