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0000017a-15d9-d736-a57f-17ff8eee0001John Kasich is Governor of Ohio. He declared his candidacy on July 21, 2015.Voters elected Kasich, a Republican, to the governor's office in 2010 and again in 2014. His political career also includes a stint in the Ohio state Senate and 18 years in Congress.In Washington, Kasich spent six years as chairman of the House Budget Committee, where he is credited with helping craft the 1997 balanced budget deal between President Bill Clinton and then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich.After leaving Congress in 2001, Kasich spent nearly a decade in the private sector, including working as a host on the Fox News Channel and at Lehman Brothers investment firm. As governor, Kasich has pursued some policies that set him apart within the Republican presidential field, including support for the Common Core State Standards and the authorization of expanded Medicaid through Obamacare.

Kasich Preaches Bipartisanship at Dartmouth, With a Nod to a Top N.H. Democrat

Casey McDermott, NHPR

 At Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business Monday afternoon, John Kasich made a point to emphasize his willingness to work across party lines – with a nod to one of New Hampshire’s top Democrats.

Former Democratic Governor John Lynch now works at the Tuck School where Kasich was speaking and introduced the candidate ahead of the event. Kasich, in turn, nodded to Lynch several times throughout his remarks.

“Your governor here, I said to him – if I win, because I know his background, if I win, you’re going to have to come help me,” Kasich said. “Because it cannot be done with one party. And the plans have to be reasonable – they can’t be, you know, ‘I’m gonna have a 10 percent flat tax.’”

Instead, Kasich outlined a version of his own tax proposal – a 28 percent top rate, 15 percent capital gains, “a corporate tax that goes from the highest down to 25 percent that allows you to write off plant and equipment and prevent double taxation.”

“It’s reasonable,” Kasich said. “It’s not some crazy, out there in space plan.”

This theme of pragmatism over political expediency was one stressed repeatedly by Kasich throughout the event.

“Somebody said, ‘He’s not the flashiest guy,’” Kasich told one crowd member a few moments earlier. “I used to always be the flashy guy, now I’m not flashy anymore, I don’t know. But here’s the thing – the proposals that I have are proposals designed to be enacted, not to win a vote.”

In all, Kasich spoke at the school for about an hour, fielding questions on health care, the environment, balancing the federal budget and campaign finance reform, among other issues.

Kasich has said a strong finish in New Hampshire is vital to his campaign and has been spending much of his time in the state over the last year. The stop of Dartmouth was one of several  on his campaign schedule Monday, with additional stops planned throughout the state today and Wednesday.

Casey is a Senior News Editor for NHPR. You can contact her with questions or feedback at cmcdermott@nhpr.org.
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