Ohio Governor John Kasich’s performance in Thursday night’s debate is getting some good reviews.
Kasich says he thought he did well in the debate.
“From what I understand, Twitter has kind of blown up on me tonight so it is probably getting up there a little bit,” Kasich said afterward.
Kasich laments moderators didn’t ask him about something he thought would be a strong point for him.
“I wanted to talk more about foreign policy and defense because on that stage, I have more experience than anybody on it but they have a tough job too and they did a good job,” Kasich said.
Kasich drew loud applause when he answered questions. It was clear he benefited from a home state crowd.
“Well, it just makes you feel good when people in your own state are so positive about you. I mean, it’s great. It’s a wonderful thing. Today I’m popular, tomorrow I won’t be. So you take it a day at a time,” Kasich said.
Recent polls taken in New Hampshire show he has risen in popularity there. He was second in the most recent poll taken in the Granite state. And it doesn’t hurt that Former New Hampshire Governor John Sununu is a big fan of Kasich.
“John Kasich will be the next president of the United States,” Sununu said.
Sununu, who is one of Kasich’s paid advisors, says it is clear to him that Kasich stands out.
“He has leadership and experience that nobody else has and a message that resonates with voters. So when you have a candidate like that you go town to town, person to person,” Sununu said.
The Chairman of Ohio’s Republican Party, Matt Borges, was upbeat about Kasich’s performance and the event itself.
“I think he did a great job. You know it’s hard with ten candidates up there. He didn’t get a lot of questions asked of him. I thought he knocked it out of the park with a couple of those questions. His answers were great. You know, he’s no stranger to these kinds of forums. I always expect him to do a great job and I wasn’t disappointed,” Borges said.
But not everyone was happy with Kasich and the other Republicans. Protestors chanted outside Quicken Loans Arena.
Sandy Theis, Director of ProgressOhio was one of those who gathered outside the event.
“What ProgressOhio wants to do is build a society where anybody who wants an opportunity to succeed gets an opportunity to succeed. And cutting taxes for millionaires and defunding Planned Parenthood are not the type of policies that I think achieve those goals,” Theis said.
Democratic opponents were not the only ones protesting. There was also a very small conservative group that backs the so called heartbeat bill, a plan that would ban abortion when a fetal heartbeat could be detected.
Kasich was upbeat as he left the building shortly before two in the morning, thanking the crew that had been working the event on his way out the door.