Boehner: Romney hurting in Ohio because of Kasich's success

Mitt Romney is struggling in Ohio because Republican Gov. John Kasich has succeeded at healing the state's economy, the nation's top elected Republican said Friday.

Speaker John Boehner, who has represented Ohio in the House since 1991, said he always expected a close race between President Barack Obama and Romney. But Kasich — Boehner's friend from his days in Congress — has undercut Romney's central argument by improving the employment picture in the state."

"One of the things that probably works against Romney in Ohio is the fact that Gov. Kasich has done such a good job of fixing government regulations in the state, attracting new businesses to the state," Boehner said Friday. "Our unemployment rate in Ohio is lower than the national average as a matter of fact, I think it's a full point lower than the national average. So as a result people are still concerned about jobs in Ohio but it certainly isn't like you see in some other states."