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John Kasich says it's "unlikely" he'll run for elected office again

Ohio Gov. John Kasich on new book
Ohio Gov. John Kasich on "Two Paths," 2016 race and unity 08:25

Ohio Gov. John Kasich said Monday that he probably won’t run for elected office again.

“Unlikely that I will ever seek office again, but you never know,” the Republican said in an interview on “CBS This Morning” while promoting his new book, “Two Paths: America Divided or United.” 

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Kasich, who was defeated by President Trump in the 2016 GOP primary, said he didn’t endorse him or go to the Republican convention that was hosted in his state because he said “my words mean something to me.”

“When somebody was pulling somebody down, I’m not going to go for them,” said Kasich, adding that he won’t support candidates in either party “that are going to seek to divide us.”

The governor warned that a repeal of Obamacare, especially the Medicaid expansion, would “devastate people in our state.” He suggested there are ways to improve the health care law and that “nothing big can be sustained if you don’t have both parties working at it.”

“We have to unite ourselves because if we continue to be divided, we’re not going to make progress as a nation and as a culture,” he said.

Kasich, a former chairman of the House Budget Committee, doubts that the government will shut down this week. Congress must pass a new spending package by Friday night.

“No one wants one,” he said. “I think the people who are way out there and want to be destructive, I think they will not be listened to...I suspect it’ll be worked out.”

Asked about Mr. Trump’s first 100 days, Kasich said that the U.S. missile strikes on Syria was the “right thing to do,” but he said that when he sees immigration agents removing people from their homes, he said, “That is a terrible policy.”

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