Ohio Gov. John Kasich campaigned in his own backyard, where he pitched his support for clean energy but also addressed energy issues related to the manufacturing industry.
“We want to make sure we promote [renewable energy] and we also want to look forward to battery technologies that can change us,” Kasich told participants of a town hall meeting in Youngstown. “But we don’t want to give up on the traditional sources of energy. We should continue to dig coal, but we have to clean it before we burn it. We’ve been doing it in our state. We want to develop natural gas, that’s very important.”
“Youngstown has a history of manufacturing,” Kasich said. “You want to bring more jobs back to the Mahoning Valley, in things like manufacturing? You better have the cheapest energy you can have in the world. Do you know how much these alternative energies cost? A lot more than our traditional energy sources.”
Ohio’s presidential primary is today. Polls have Kasich narrowly leading GOP frontrunner Donald Trump.