CLEVELAND – The process of narrowing down a field of 17 Republican presidential candidates from 17 to one begins tonight in the city where the party’s 2016 nominee will be chosen about a year from now.
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Ohio Gov. John Kasich joins a crowd of 10 fellow Republicans at the first prime-time GOP presidential debate at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland (9:00 p.m./FOX News, Facebook) while seven other candidates hold a “second tier” debate in the afternoon.
For Republican activists in a party stronghold in the swing-state, the debate will be must-see TV as they start deciding which candidate to support.
The suburbs and small cities that form a crescent over Cincinnati make up a prolific GOP base. Republican voters in the region helped deliver Ohio and clinch re-election for George W. Bush in 2004.
Miami University political scientist Chris Kelley says attracting enthusiastic southwest Ohio backers will help candidates build their important campaign “ground game” in the state.
Long-time conservative activist Lori Viars in Warren County says there are a lot of choices in the field, and several she likes.
“Let’s get them out of the gate and watch them run for a while,” she said.
While Kasich supporters see the debate as a chance for him to attract the attention of voters who are unfamiliar with him, Democrats are planning to challenge the two-term governor’s claimed successes in rejuvenating the state.
Democratic leaders planned a news conference Thursday ahead of the evening debate, in which Kasich landed the 10th spot out of ten based on polling.
Kasich has campaigned on turning around Ohio’s economy, adding jobs and erasing a projected budget deficit that estimates put at between $7 billion and $8 billion.
Democrats suggest that some of Kasich’s government efficiencies and tax reforms have shifted the economic burden onto the middle class and local communities.
Kasich made a brief run for the 2000 presidential nomination. He served 18 years in Congress and a decade in the private sector.