WRONG ONE DON’T PUBLISH Kasich brings his message to Ohio CAT days before state primary

Ohio+Governor+John+Kasich+talks+to+supporters+at+a+rally+at+the+Ohio+CAT+Headquarters+on+Tuesday%2C+March+8%2C+2016+during+his+campaign+for+president.

Ohio Governor John Kasich talks to supporters at a rally at the Ohio CAT Headquarters on Tuesday, March 8, 2016 during his campaign for president.

Mitch Felan

Kasich took to the stage Tuesday evening in front of a construction loader to address his supporters in a town hall. 

The discussion, taking place at the Ohio CAT in Broadview Heights, brought supporters from across the state to talk with the potential candidate about Donald Trump, healthcare and current events. 

With a week left before Ohio voters take the polls, the state’s governor John Kasich is making his last stand before the Ohio primary and the business held his latest appearance.

Building his campaign on his moderate conservatism and record as Ohio’s governor, making several stops in Ohio is a natural choice.

Kasich’s unique position as the state’s governor came up many times throughout the conversation, even to the point where the town hall started with an “OH-IO” chant.

The choice of placing the town hall in the CAT building also provided a unique opportunity, as the company’s marketing director opened for Kasich, lauding him as a pro-business candidate. 

Following a few introductions Kasich walked into a roped-off area and to thunderous applause.

“I get it, we have to fix all this in the country like we fixed it in the state,” Kasich said in his opening thoughts, highlighting his unique situation.

Instantly calling back to his position, he also started by claiming he is the only candidate to balance the budget both within his state and on Capitol Hill.

Throughout the event, Kasich discussed many current events and presidential race happenings.

Kasich touched a few details regarding the GOP’s front-runner Donald Trump and Kasich’s hesitance to verbally attack the candidate.

He even mentioned a recent interview Trump conducted with Cleveland’s WKYC news, where the candidate said he would “certainly” consider Kasich as his running mate if he won the Republican nomination. 

Kasich declined Trump’s offer on the O’Reilly Factor earlier this week, saying being governor of Ohio is the “second-best” job in the country. 

Trump dominated a large part of the rally, with one of the highlights coming when an unidentified voter shouted to Kasich, asking him how he is going to “trump Trump.”

Kasich responded with a smile, saying that the upcoming Ohio primary will be an integral part in overcoming Trump in the race.

Kasich also devoted much of his speech to a touchy topic for the Republican nominees, health care.

“We don’t want anybody to just all of a sudden not have health insurance,” Kasich said in response to ending Obamacare.

Kasich is infamous within the GOP party for his stance on Obamacare, which supports certain measures of the law, including pre-existing conditions and widespread health coverage.

However, Kasich did not completely side with the president on his controversial health care reform, specifically citing the bureaucracy and complexity of hospitals as a result of the law.

He even joked he would have to give his hospital bills to his wife, because “I can’t figure them out and I’m running for president!”

Kasich finished his discussion on health care by claiming health care costs would be driven down by offering incentives to doctors doing “a good job.”

However, the discussion did not completely favor Kasich, with some voters expressing their uncertainty.

One voter in the crowd said, “If I vote for you I get shot in the foot, if I vote for Trump I get shot in the other foot.”

Kasich finished the conversation by turning to another controversial topic for the GOP race, what he called “Washington insiders.”

Kasich said these “insiders” would create a “contested convention,” suggesting that such contest would slow the party’s momentum.

He also added that these “insiders” are not his biggest fans, but rebuffed that opposition by claiming they weren’t the biggest fans of a famous politician he used to work with.

“You know who else they didn’t like? Ronald Reagan,” he said.

Kasich is continuing his path through Ohio for the rest of this week and going into next week in numerous Ohio towns such as Westerville, North Canton and Mansfield.