COLUMBUS – Governor John Kasich says he’s unscripted and will continue operating that way — even if it gets him in trouble during his run for the Republican presidential nomination.
RELATED: Kasich trails in Trump on his home turf
At a campaign event in Virginia Monday, Kasich raised eyebrows when he said that he first got elected to the state Senate in part by “women who left their kitchens” to campaign for him.
The Ohio governor and former congressman told about 1,000 people at a town hall in Fairfax, Virginia, that he started campaigning in 1978 with very little support.
“How did I get elected? I didn’t have anybody for me. We just got an army of people and many women who left their kitchens to go out and go door to door and to put yard signs up for me.” He also said that in more homes nowadays, both adults work.
A woman in the audience stood up and said:
“First off, I want to say: Your comment earlier about the women came out of the kitchen to support you? I’ll come to support you but I won’t be coming out of the kitchen.”
With chuckle Kasich replied: “I gotcha, I gotcha.”
Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton responded by Tweeting that a “woman’s place is… wherever she wants it to be.”
Later in the day he told reporters in Charlottesville that women have played a big role in his administration and campaigns.
He said because he doesn’t use a teleprompter or notes, he sometimes doesn’t say things as artfully as he should. Kasich said he’s going to try to be “a bit more careful” but won’t change his ways.
“I’m going to continue to operate on a high wire without a net,” he said. “And frankly, I’d like to see everyone whose running for president get out of the scripted role and start being real and take questions.”
Kasich campaigns in Georgia today.
Virginia and Georgia are among the states holding primaries on March 1, known as Super Tuesday.
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The super PAC backing Kasich plans to air a TV ad in Michigan, Massachusetts and Vermont featuring an emotional exchange he had with a college student at a town hall event.
The ad, called “Quiet,” is narrated by actor Tim Allen. It shows teary University of Georgia student Brett Smith opening up to the Ohio governor about his personal struggles at a South Carolina campaign stop last week and Kasich hugging him.
Allen says “being president is more than the economy or health care.” He says “there is a place for quiet strength” in the Oval Office.
The super PAC, New Day for America, announced Monday it will have more than 50 staff and 14 offices in a dozen March primary states. It plans a heavier presence in Michigan and Ohio — like it had in early-voting New Hampshire, where Kasich finished second.