Ohio Governor John Kasich continued his focus on campaigning in New Hampshire Friday, with a town hall meeting in Hopkinton that he described as his 27th New Hampshire town hall. Kasich had two other public events during a two day visit, with a town hall Thursday night and filing for the New Hampshire primary ballot Friday morning.
Kasich has risen in recent polling but remains a decidedly second tier candidate as Donald Trump and Ben Carson dominate polls and news coverage. Kasich has focused heavily on New Hampshire, with frequent visits and an emphasis on fiscal and budgetary accomplishments. With his emphasis on fiscal responsibility and his quirky, at times awkward, personality it’s a sensible focus but there are a number of candidates heavily focused on the state.
Kasich spoke to an attentive audience of about 50 people. They stayed with him throughout his 50 minute appearance, asking substantial questions and applauding at the start and finish but seemingly interested voters rather than firm supporters. In contrast to Kasich town hall meetings I attended in August and September, he spent little time on biography. He answered 13 questions covering topics including wage growth, Planned Parenthood funding for the cancer screening and birth control services, the Keystone XL pipeline, the federal tax code, social security and medicare, student debt and college costs, pharmaceutical and other healthcare costs.
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