Ohio Governor John Kasich
ONUMBA.COM, USA – Polls this early in the presidential primary contest don’t really mean much to the candidates, but if you were Ohio Governor John Kasich, it might, at least, privately get you a bit excited knowing you are not polling badly in the one contest that potentially matters.
No one knows for sure if Kasich is going to jump into the crowded race yet. But last week, he dropped an abundance of hints in favor of running for president, setting July 21 as the date he will officially declare his candidacy.
Until then, officially, he is still thinking about it.
But if Kasich is looking for something encouraging to nudge him over to the side of a decision to definitely get into the race, that is, if he is looking for a modicum of motivation, this might be it. A recent poll of 1,191 Ohio voters by Quinnipiac University Polling Institute poll showed that Kasich will defeat the presumed Democratic Presidential frontrunner Hilary Clinton 47-40 in Ohio in a one-on-one match-up. That was the best performance reported by the poll when compared to the other Republicans in the race squaring off against Clinton one-on-one.
Although the poll was conducted in Ohio where the governor enjoys a huge popularity, with Ohioans hailing him as a strong leader, it is still significant when you consider that Clinton has officially declared her candidacy and Kasich is yet to officially get into the race. Not just that, Clinton enjoys a global name recognition that easily dwarfs Kasich who is really still relatively unknown nationwide.
Even though Kasich didn’t poll well against Clinton in Florida where he lost to the former first lady 45 to 39 and in Pennsylvania 48 to 35, he is certainly establishing himself as a potentially legitimate contender capable of improving with wider dissemination of his message.
Seventy percent of Ohioans said that Kasich has strong leadership qualities and 61 percent see him as an honest leader.
Kasich has formed a Political Action Committee (PAC) and now busy travelling to the key early primary states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina to see how he scores on the popularity meter.
Kasich was elected governor in 2010. Four years later, he mercilessly clobbered his Democratic opponent Ed Fitzgerald in his reelection contest. It wasn’t really much of a contest. Kasich, apparently feeling abundantly sure of victory, refused to debate Fitzgerald and would not even acknowledge the former FBI agent as a legitimate candidate. That completely deflated Fitzgerald who was left floundering and dangling aimlessly throughout much of the campaign.
Needless to say, Kasich is hugely popular in Ohio. But it remains to be seen whether or not that popularity is going to manifest in other states, particularly in the key early primary states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.
The governor is currently visiting these places to test the “waters.” He is also feeling the pulse of campaign donors faced with a retinue of candidates to support, all of which will help him decide whether to enter into what is beginning to look more like Boston Marathon race than a presidential primary contest.
