Ohio Governor and Republican candidate for President John Kasich attracted a crowd of about a hundred people at the Iowa State Fair today, taking his turn on the Des Moines Register’s Soapbox.
Rain forced the event inside.
Kasich is appealing to moderates rather than conservatives in the race for the Republican nomination.
“I ran for office because I thought I could make a difference,” Kasich says. “I’m a Republican but it has always been my vehicle and never been my master.”
Kasich touts his votes in Congress against what he calls corporate welfare, and his expansion of Medicaid in Ohio as other Republican governors rejected Obamacare.
He got applause when he called for tax relief for small business.
Kasich is campaigning hard to move up in the crowded field for the Republican nomination. Being at the fair, he gave a safe answer to a question about his support for agriculture.
“I’m for agriculture. Let me be clear,” he says to laughter from the crowd. “We’re a big ag state. It’s our largest industry.”
Kasich got another laugh when he thanked Donald Trump for attracting 24 million viewers to the Fox News Republican debate earlier this month.
