Ohio Gov. John Kasich is edging closer to mounting a race for the GOP presidential nomination, ABC News' Jonathan Karl said Sunday.
"The governor of Ohio is virtually certain to run for president," Karl said during a panel discussion on ABC's
"This Week with George Stephanopoulos" program. "He had a meeting with top aides over last weekend, he told them to go forward and his family is now on board. It is now much more likely than not that Kasich will enter this race."
The Republican governor this past week made several references to jumping in as the latest candidate, but has not given an indication about when that campaign would start.
On Friday, the governor told a town hall meeting in Los Angeles that initially he did not think he would seek the nomination, but he's not seeing any "real excitement" for any of the other potential and declared GOP candidates, reports
The Columbus Dispatch.
"I don’t see anybody grabbing and fixing this thing and being the front-runner," he said, further commenting if the money is available, "it's most likely I'll move forward."
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush "is going to have more money than Wells Fargo," Kasich said, but he doesn't think that means he'll have grassroots support.
Kasich would likely mount a moderate campaign, saying that if he runs, he won't "spend my time dwelling" on social issues, even though he is a Christian.
"Faith has always been an underpinning of our country," the governor said, but "I’m a lot more into the do’s than the don'ts."
The Dispatch, located in Ohio's capital city, also reported last week that Kasich will meet in New York City this Wednesday at the Park Hyatt Hotel with Paul Singer, who launched the Elliott Management hedge fund.
A spokesman for Kasich's political committee would not confirm the event except to say the governor will be in New York City.
Kasich has also discussed a potential run for the office with his wife, Karen, and his twin daughters, who are high-school freshmen, The Dispatch reports, and told the newspaper his wife is "fine" with a potential White House run.
For some time, Kasich has deflected questions about the run, saying he had not talked to his wife about the matter. But now, "they know what's involved... my family's fine."
He told the newspaper that he believes the key to a victory is simple: "I think it’s about being me, and trying to, in the course of countless miles of travel — I think the key is to just be who I am and to take it very seriously without taking myself too seriously."
Further, he believes what the country needs most is "a large dose of positive; coupled with that a realistic approach to restoring a positive sense among the public."
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