Watch CBS News

'Mature, Grounded Politician': New York Daily News Endorses John Kasich Ahead Of Primary

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The New York Daily News editorial board is backing Ohio Gov. John Kasich ahead of next week's New York Republican primary.

"By his record of accomplishments in public life, by the credibility of his plans, a temperament that marries a small government outlook with can-do effectiveness, Ohio Gov. John Kasich is highly suited to carry the GOP banner into the general election," the editorial board wrote.

Calling him a "mature, grounded politician," the Daily News said that Kasich "meets the test of Republican conservatism."

"Nine terms of congressional service included crafting the first U.S. balanced budget in nearly four decades," the editorial board wrote. "In 2010, he narrowly won election as Ohio governor and he was reelected in a landslide four years later. While meeting with the Daily News Editorial Board, he was both ebulliently folksy and fully versed on the innards of policy."

COMPLETE CAMPAIGN 2016 COVERAGE

The Daily News, however, had harsh words for Kasich's Republican rivals: front-runner Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.

"… [B]oth men would be disastrous as President – Cruz because he is an absolutist ideologue, Trump because he suffers from the irreparable, disqualifying defect of being Trump," the editorial board wrote.

A new Siena College poll showed Trump with a comfortable lead among likely New York Republican voters at 50 percent. Kasich was second at 27 percent and Cruz was third at 17 percent.

According to CBS News, Trump has accrued 755 delegates, while Cruz has 540 and Kasich 143.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.