By Matt Walton
In less than a week Virginians from all across the Commonwealth will go to the polls to cast their vote in the March 1 primary. Republicans are battling for the soul and direction of the party. We have five candidates with active campaigns and many questions to consider when we vote for who we want our nominee to be.
First let me say that I’m actively supporting and working to elect Gov. John Kasich as our next president. Secondly that I really like and admire Sen. Marco Rubio and the fact he is a new generational leader for the GOP. Let me explain why I chose record over rhetoric when I decided to back Gov. Kasich late last spring.
Running the federal government is a daunting task that requires the president to know not only how the process works, but also how to get things done. When you are governor you are accountable for the state, for better or for worse. As governor of Ohio John Kasich took a state that was in decline, in deficit, and had slow job growth and turned it around. The nation’s seventh-largest state now has surpluses and sustainable job growth.
We need to ask ourselves what we want in our nominee: someone who promises the ability to bring about change or someone who has demonstrated that they can accomplish it. Don’t get me wrong, being a member of Congress is an accomplishment; however, it’s even more impressive when you take the responsibility of serving in Washington and can put it into action.
Action in Washington is what the American people are calling for. Gov. Kasich has such a history. He was the chairman of the House Budget Committee from 1995 to 2001, when he took on what seemed to be the impossible task of balancing the federal budget. What is impressive is that he was able to do it in a divided government where the GOP was not in the White House.
Another factor that we must think about is who can win in November. Recent national polling from USA Today / Suffolk University showed that Gov. Kasich “would perform better than any other Republican in a general election matchup against Democrat Hillary Clinton.” We need to have a nominee that can win all over the United States, especially Ohio and here in Virginia. This November we must expand the map and win in areas where we have not won in years.
I live in Henrico County, a swing county in the Commonwealth, and I know that Gov. Kasich would carry the county over Clinton. Last year I ran for a seat in the House of Delegates in an area not friendly to Republicans and I managed to win precincts that historically Republicans have not won. Though I lost my election, I saw what message and policy ideas work in areas that Republicans must win in order to grow our map. There is only one person in the race that can expand the map like this and that’s Gov. Kasich. He proved this when he won 86 of 88 Ohio counties in his reelection bid in 2014, resulting in almost a million vote victory.
Additionally, according to a Quinnipiac University Poll released today finds that in Ohio “Kasich has the best favorability rating of any candidate, 56 – 28 percent” in the field. Furthermore, the poll also shows that Gov. Kasich runs the strongest against Clinton in Ohio, beating her 54 – 37 percent. At the same time the poll shows that Sen. Rubio wins by 5 points, but remains under 50 percent.
My fellow Virginians, we are at a critical time in our country and we must look to elect a person who has proven that they can get things done, not just make promises. Gov. Kasich has the history of executive leadership and the record of success. When you go to the polls on March 1 please choose record over rhetoric
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Matt Walton is the former Republican nominee for the 74th House of Delegates and is a member of the Henrico County Republican Committee. Matt is a high school technology & engineering education teacher and is heavily involved in local, state, and national politics. You can follow Matt on Twitter @Matt4Va.
