Kasich Campaign Press Release - In Peoria, the Journal Star Endorses John Kasich

The Peoria Journal Star

There is but one adult left in the room among the Republicans chasing the White House. John Kasich gets and deserves this newspaper's endorsement.

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As his state's CEO, he's won lower income taxes, increased education spending and balanced budgets. As congressman, he worked across the aisle to help write the nation's welfare reform law and the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. The latter, with arguably an assist from tax policies previously implemented and a growing economy, was followed by Uncle Sam's last budget surplus from 1998 through 2001.

"More than any single man, he is responsible for balancing the budget," then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich said.

They'd get a Kasich who alone among the remaining Republicans doesn't hate the institution he hopes to lead, who believes in limited but not non-existent government. They'd get a social conservative who's not a fire breather, who doesn't resort to decidedly unChristian behavior to prove how religious he is. They'd get an intelligent man who doesn't deny the science behind climate change, though he'd prefer private-sector solutions to government ones. They'd get a pragmatic leader who's not a partisan demagogue, who while not a fan of ObamaCare accepted its Medicaid expansion in his state because it helped his most vulnerable.

They'd get someone who has championed criminal justice reforms in an Ohio that reportedly has among the lowest recidivism rates in the country. They'd get someone who, as thoughtful and mature people do, has evolved in his thinking on immigration reform, who believes in the rule of law but speaks the truth to people who don't want to hear it — "The idea that we're going to deport all these people is ludicrous, and everybody knows it" — and takes a common-sense, compassionate approach. They'd get someone who supported the war in Iraq but is now honest enough to concede that was a mistake, who is not eager for conflict but understands that the ISIS that grew out of that quagmire is a real threat that must be confronted and defeated with a true coalition.

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This is not a hard call. Only John Kasich in what's left of this field has truly prepared himself for the Oval Office, and he is endorsed.

Read the full editorial here.