In a series of campaign stops today , Gov. John Kasich talked about tone, policy and the differences between him and Donald Trump, his chief rival for Ohio voters for the GOP presidential nomination. For Ohio Public Radio, WKSU’s M.L. Schultze has more from one of those stops.
The first question raised at a town hall at the military air museum near the Akron-Canton Airport was about immigration. Gov. Kasich said he supports completing the border fence and establishing a path to legalization for those here illegally – though not citizenship.
Polling hours on Tuesday are 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
He flatly rejected the idea of the mass deportations Donald Trump has called for.
“You don’t actually think, folks, that we’re going to drive around in Canton Ohio and yank people out of their homes and ship them to Mexico, leaving their kids on the front porch. You really think that’s going to happen.”
The crowd, overwhelmingly, answered “no.”
Kasich also raised concerns about what Trump campaign rallies are doing to America’s reputation.
“Think of the images that have been broadcast across this world, of the way we’re picking a president here. My kids are watching this. Your kids. Your grandkids are watching what’s happening here. And they’re looking at a scene of people pounding each other. You think they’re not using that for propaganda to send a message to people that America’s broken, that America’s lost?”
The Ohio governor, whom polls show is virtually tied with Trump among Republican voter sin this state, also spoke of the need to balance the budget, repeal Obamacare and freeze – at least temporarily – new regulations.
Also stumping in Ohio in the days heading into Tuesday’s primary were Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders, Ted Cruz, and Hillary and Bill Clinton. Kasich came to Akron-Canton from Youngstown, where Trump had scheduled his own rally – the second in four days in Northeast Ohio.
