16 Years After Scuttled Run, John Kasich Returns to New Hampshire
Ohio Governor-elect John Kasich talks with reporters after meeting with House and Senate Republican leaders and fellow governors-elect at the U.S. Capitol December 1, 2010 in Washington, DC.
Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesMANCHESTER, N.H.–To hear John Kasich tell it, the last time he was in New Hampshire running for president, he was too young and inexperienced. Sixteen years later, Ohio’s Republican governor says he’s just a regular guy with a big job.
Kasich is on a swing through the U.S. Northeast, saying that what he learned as a congressman, governor and investment banker has given him lessons on addressing the biggest national challenges as he considers whether to try for the White House. Seasoned after his failed 1999 bid, Kasich is testing how his pitch of fiscal prudence and compassion for the needy–sometimes delivered in a brash, off-the-cuff manner–plays in an era of poll-tested messaging.