Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said Wednesday that Ohio Gov. John Kasich had a “one-state strategy” and knocked Mr. Kasich for expanding Medicaid under Obamacare.
“He has nothing going on down here, best we can tell,” Mr. Bush said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” speaking about South Carolina. “He had a one-state strategy, and it was effective and I commend him for the campaign he ran in New Hampshire.”
“John’s a good man. He’s served as governor of the state of Ohio. He’s done a good job,” Mr. Bush said. “But he’s not as conservative as me, and his record is not nearly as good as mine.”
“And the one telling thing that he did, apart from not really focusing on rebuilding the military, which I think is important down here and in our country, is that when he had a chance, he expanded Obamacare through Medicaid,” Mr. Bush said. “Governors across this country had a chance to take a stand against Obamacare — many did.”
“In Florida as a private citizen, I fought for stopping the expansion of Medicaid, and we were successful,” Mr. Bush said. “Other states did the same. But in Ohio, it was expanded. And he’ll have to explain that down here where Obamacare, the people want it repealed. They don’t want it expanded.”
Mr. Kasich was on track to finish second behind businessman Donald Trump in the New Hampshire GOP presidential primary Tuesday, with Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas in third and Mr. Bush in fourth with 89 percent of precincts reporting Wednesday morning.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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