The World's 50 Greatest Leaders

Rank
12
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John Kasich

GOP Presidential Candidate John Kasich Holds Town Hall In Brooklyn
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 07: U.S. Republican presidential candidate Governor John Kasich (C ) speaks to guests at a rally on April 7, 2016 in New York City. Republican presidential candidate Kasich only has 143 delegates of the 1,237 needed to win his party's nomination, being currently the last one in the presidential race in both number of states as number of delegates won. (Photo by Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images)Eduardo Munoz Alvarez—Getty Images
  • Title
    Governor
  • Affiliation
    Ohio

Kasich’s moderation didn’t resonate with Republican voters in last year’s presidential primaries. But as the leader of a politically consequential state, the Trump skeptic commands a key platform. Lately he has used it to rally GOP governors behind preserving the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion, which allowed him to secure coverage for nearly 700,000 Ohioans. Kasich made his case directly to Trump in February, and it made a difference: Instead of immediately zeroing out federal support, the GOP’s replacement plan would extend it until 2020.