Kasich Campaign Press Release - Barron's Editorial: Kasich is the Best Pick for Markets and the Economy

Barron's Editorial Board

April 2, 2016

It's time for Republicans to take a closer look at John Kasich.

For much of this presidential race, the popular Ohio governor with the common touch and a blue-chip political pedigree has been running at the back of the pack, although to his credit he has outlasted well-funded early favorites such as Florida's Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush, and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.

Now, some leaders in the Republican Party are pressing him to drop out of the race, in an effort to boost rival Ted Cruz and block Donald Trump from earning enough delegates to win the nomination on the first ballot. But having stood down more than a dozen challengers, it is unlikely that Kasich, 63, will stop now.

For investors, that looks like a good thing. Kasich's policy prescriptions, experience, and temperament make him the GOP's best bet to reassure a nervous marketplace.

Kasich wins high marks against Hillary Clinton, as well.

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And in the event of a contested convention, he has a powerful advantage: He's the only GOP candidate who beats Clinton in a head-to-head contest in the polls.

"With John Kasich, you have a candidate who lines up almost perfectly with many investors," says Chris Krueger, a Washington strategist with Guggenheim Securities. "He has a track record as a pragmatist from his time as governor, and he knows the markets from his stint as an investment banker at Lehman Brothers."

Unlike Clinton, Kasich has a sensible across-the-board tax-cutting agenda for corporations, individuals, and investors. And as a Republican president working with a presumably GOP-controlled Congress, he would be a more effective leader. After all, he spent six years as the chairman of the House Budget Committee, so he knows how to broker a deal.

"It would be marvelous if Kasich were in the White House and Paul Ryan is the speaker of the House," says David Kotok, a Kasich fan who is chairman of Cumberland Advisors, a $2.4-billion-in-assets money-management firm in Sarasota, Fla. "You'd have two people who are bright and skillful compromisers who would get things done, as opposed to the obstructionist politics we've had for many years."

Kasich, who spent 18 years in the House, appears to be sincere about reforming entitlements and other government spending. The bipartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget has studied the numbers provided by each candidate and concluded that Kasich is the only one in the race who can lower total federal spending as a percentage of gross domestic product over the next decade

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A big part of Kasich's appeal in the financial community is his record as a fiscal hawk both in Congress and in the Ohio statehouse. As chairman of the House Budget Committee, he is credited with being a leader in the fight to pass legislation in 1997 setting out guidelines to balance the budget by 2002. No doubt, that effort to eliminate the federal deficit for the first time in three decades was helped by a surging tech-fueled economy, but observers give Kasich his due for his grit and deal-making during the process.

Since becoming Ohio's governor in 2011, he has helped turn an $8 billion budget shortfall into a surplus through lots of unpopular spending cuts and a highly controversial decision to shift costs from the state to local governments. And he pulled it off while also cutting Ohio's income-tax rate.

During Kasich's governorship, Ohio's unemployment rate fell from 9.2% to 4.9% as of February. And the state has added about 400,000 new jobs. "Anyone can promise anything for investors," says Kasich spokesman Rob Nichols. "Whose taxes have Ted Cruz or Donald Trump ever cut? Gov. Kasich is the only candidate that can point to a record of accomplishment."

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Tim Pagliara, CEO of CapWealth Advisors, an investment advisory firm in Franklin, Tenn., attended a Kasich gathering last summer and came away impressed. "If you wanted to brainstorm and come up with the perfect candidate for president, with the right balance of experience and success, Kasich is it," he says.

In a few months, we'll learn if the Republican Party agrees.

Read the full editorial here.