The Washington Free Beacon’s Elizabeth Harrington joined Stuart Varney on Tuesday for a discussion about the 2016 presidential election.
Harrington commented on the niche appeal of Republican candidate John Kasich, a Midwestern governor who became the 16th Republican to seek the GOP nomination on Tuesday.
Varney called Kasich a "man of the people" and that he appeals to blue collar people. Varney asked Harrington if she felt that placing him right in the center of the Republican spectrum was a good place to the former Ohio governor.
"He's definitely a budget hawk, which I think a lot of conservatives would like," Harrington said. "Newt Gingrich gives him credit for balancing the budget in the '90s. He really turned his state around in Ohio by turning a huge $8 billion deficit into a surplus. There's aspects of his record on budget issues that people will like, but conservatives will not like his accepting Medicaid expansion and Obamacare."
Harrington compared Kasich to fellow Republican candidate Chris Christie, both having a lot of charisma and saying what they mean but warned that some conservatives might be turned off from Kasich for his expansion of Medicaid.
"I think he is the guy who wants to drag the Republican Party back to the idea of growth and prosperity. Right after the Supreme Court issued its ruling on gay marriage he came right out and said 'get over it,' 'move on.' I think that will draw a lot of support from Republicans," Varney said.
Harrington also predicted that Republican candidate Donald Trump's controversial comments about U.S. prisoners of war would signal the end of his brief time atop the polls.
"I definitely think he's going to fade," Harrington said. "I mean, at this point last cycle it was Herman Cain who was up in the polls. It's really early and his comments are going to keep getting him into trouble."