--- title: 2016 Election: John Kasich Could Be the GOP’s Pope Francis Candidate description: His inclusive and conciliatory language during the debate stood in stark contrast to that of many of his rivals canonical: https://time.com/3988867/john-kasich-pope-francis/ author: Christopher Hale article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-07T19:29:42.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T10:00:09.492Z article:section: Ideas og:title: 2016 Election: John Kasich Could Be the GOP’s Pope Francis Candidate og:description: His inclusive language during the debate stood in stark contrast to that of many of his rivals og:url: https://time.com/3988867/john-kasich-pope-francis/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt478f89b92497efa8/69885e560a4a22c8169c581d/john-kasich1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Republican presidential candidate Ohio Gov. John Kasich fields a question during the first Republican presidential debate hosted by Fox News and Facebook at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, on Aug. 6, 2015. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 2016 Election: John Kasich Could Be the GOP’s Pope Francis Candidate twitter:description: His inclusive language during the debate stood in stark contrast to that of many of his rivals twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt478f89b92497efa8/69885e560a4a22c8169c581d/john-kasich1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # John Kasich Could Be the GOP’s Pope Francis Candidate > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Inside TIME: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Inside TIME is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. 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It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. by [Christopher Hale](https://time.com/author/christopher-j-hale-2/) ## Christopher Hale Aug 7, 2015 7:29 PM UTC  Ohio Gov. John Kasich at the Cleveland Fox News debate Ohio Gov. John Kasich at the Cleveland Fox News debate Scott Olson—Getty Images by [Christopher Hale](https://time.com/author/christopher-j-hale-2/) ## Christopher Hale Aug 7, 2015 7:29 PM UTC At times during the first GOP debate on Thursday night, it was hard to tell who was talking: Pope Francis or Ohio Governor John Kasich. “We need to give everybody a chance, treat everybody with respect, and let them share in this great American dream that we have,” the [second-term governor](http://time.com/3988276/republican-debate-primetime-transcript-full-text/), an Anglican, said. “God gives me unconditional love. I’m going to give it to my family and my friends and the people around me.” [Recent polling](http://time.com/3970300/presidential-election-pope-francis-politics/) suggests that practicing and preaching Pope Francis politics works. Kasich apparently got the memo. His inclusive and conciliatory language Thursday night stood in stark contrast to that of many of his rivals, most notably, Donald Trump. Pope Francis has called for us to build bridges to make a home for immigrants and the excluded, yet Trump [communicated a different idea](http://time.com/3988276/republican-debate-primetime-transcript-full-text/): “We need to build a wall, and it has to be built quickly.” It isn’t just Kasich’s words that connected him with the 78-year-old Bishop of Rome. Kasich’s policy decisions during the past five years have reflected [the pope’s plea](http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2013/11/26/247332384/pope-slams-disposable-culture-that-marginalizes-many) that politicians be “genuinely disturbed by the state of society, the people, the lives of the poor.” Most noteworthy was the governor’s courageous decision to break with his Republican colleagues and support Medicaid expansion in the state of Ohio. When conservatives pushed back on his decision, Kasich asked his fellow Republicans to understand that [poverty is real](http://www.vox.com/2015/7/20/9000563/john-kasich-medicaid-obamacare). “When you die and get to the meeting with St. Peter, he’s probably not going to ask you much about what you did about keeping government small. But he is going to ask you what you did for the poor. You better have a good answer.” Pope Francis would most certainly agree. He has [derided trickle-down economic systems that cut social programs](http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/pope-francis-denounces-trickle-down-economic-theories-in-critique-of-inequality/2013/11/26/e17ffe4e-56b6-11e3-8304-caf30787c0a9%5Fstory.html) as having a “crude and naïve trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power,” and has lamented that “the excluded are still waiting.” Kasich’s performance Thursday night was reminiscent of the George W. Bush era of “compassionate conservatism.” Bush [defined this governing philosophy](http://www.yale.edu/yfp/archives/oct03/oct03%5Fcomp.html) in simple terms: “It is compassionate to actively help our citizens in need. It is conservative to insist on accountability and results.” The philosophy proved successful for Bush. But can Kasich follow suit? Kasich’s campaign got off to a rocky start. One of President Barack Obama’s former senior advisors [called](http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/07/21/john-kasich-makes-a-strong-case-for-the-teleprompter-in-his-presidential-announcement-speech/) his long-winded announcement that he was running for president “a great advertisement for speechwriters and Teleprompters.” Some, including [John McCain](http://kousibei.net/:/www.nytimes.com/1998/04/26/magazine/a-republican-with-rough-edges.html?src=pm&pagewanted=2), have also [complained about Kasich’s temper](http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/john-kasichs-anger-management-120345.html#ixzz3i8VVaVSJ). These are all valid concerns. But Kasich’s performance last night might be able jumpstart his underdog primary campaign. In an interview earlier this year, Kasich revealed that he really does [understand Francis](http://www.nationaljournal.com/magazine/how-arrogant-prickly-smart-john-kasich-would-upend-2016-20150306): --- > “” --- If this is the message Kasich takes into 2016, he might be back in Cleveland again next summer for the convention as the GOP nominee for president. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3988867/john-kasich-pope-francis/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3988867/john-kasich-pope-francis/"},"headline":"John Kasich Could Be the GOP’s Pope Francis Candidate","datePublished":"2015-08-07T19:29:42.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T10:00:09.492Z","description":"His inclusive language during the debate stood in stark contrast to that of many of his rivals","url":"https://time.com/3988867/john-kasich-pope-francis/","keywords":["politics","Religion"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt478f89b92497efa8/69885e560a4a22c8169c581d/john-kasich1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Christopher Hale","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/christopher-j-hale-2/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt478f89b92497efa8/69885e560a4a22c8169c581d/john-kasich1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Republican presidential candidate Ohio Gov. 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