Like May flowers, candidates for governor are sprouting up all over the state. One Republican who popped up on the campaign trail this week is Secretary of State Jon Husted. He told a group of about 50 supporters in Cleveland today (Tuesday) that he can help Ohio “win the future.” Ideastream’s Mark Urycki reports.
The 49 year old Jon Husted was a former Speaker of the Ohio House but he spends more time talking about being a football star at the University of Dayton. He says it taught him how to win.
Husted explains that he is a conservative who wants Ohio to be liberated from the federal government by being able to spend federal dollars “the way we want..”
“And if we had the ability to innovate our health care programs, our job training programs, our poverty programs, we’d do better.”
States may get the ability to innovate health coverage under Trumpcare, although Husted says that’s still up in the air…
“The one thing I do know is that when I’m governor we will cover pre-existing conditions.”
He was asked about a decade or more of Republican efforts at the Statehouse to strip cities of their power in favor of state laws – covering items like hiring, gun registration, or fracking. Husted responded that those matters are best decided on a case-by-case basis.
“Well there are some things that lend themselves to be regulated at the state level and there are some things that lend themselves to be regulated at the local level. I want less regulation for everybody…. They’re all the same people you know local government residents are state government residents. It’s figuring out what the best solution is for the situation.”
Cities such as Toledo and Cleveland could lose the power to their lead abatement laws for apartments if a House budget is passed as it now stands.
Husted says he’s a believer in school choice and would work towards closing the funding gap between rich and poor districts. But he wouldn’t say if that means expanding vouchers for private schools.
“I want to make sure kids have access to a quality school to get a quality education and I don’t have any bias about where that happens.”
The Secretary of State is 49 years old and his likely most formidable rival for the nomination is 70 year old state Attorney General Mike Dewine. Husted made a point to the Cleveland audience that the next governor could lead the party for the next decade.
“It’s 2 years to run and 8 years to serve. So you’re going to look out on that future. How are we going to deliver a brighter future? By the time the next governor finishes his first term in office it’ll be 2023.”
The primary election is still one year away.