Gov. Kasich sees election results as green light Income tax in cross hairs at top of economic agenda KASICH from A1

Ohio Gov. John Kasich celebrates his re-election win last November in Columbus. His campaign manager from that race, Matt Carle, is in place to run Kasich's new national political operation.

(Gus Chan, Plain Dealer Publishing Co.)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Matt Carle, the veteran Ohio operative who steered Gov. John Kasich to a landslide re-election win last year, will manage Kasich's new national political committee as the Republican explores a bid for president in 2016.

The move, which the governor confirmed this week in an interview with the Northeast Ohio Media Group, signals a big role for Carle if Kasich runs.

Carle could find himself in charge of the campaign itself or with a group that could promote Kasich's candidacy but not coordinate with the campaign. Kasich also said Jeff Polesovsky, Carle's deputy on the 2014 re-election, has signed on with New Day for America, the nonprofit organization Kasich's allies established last month.

Dave Luketic, another Kasich insider who served as political director for the Ohio Republican Party and for the governor's re-election campaign, is working for New Day for America, too. Luketic was a key architect of Kasich's recent national tour to promote a balanced-budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Kasich could add more of his Ohio aides to the mix. Chris Schrimpf, the Ohio GOP's communications director, is serving unofficially as a New Day for America spokesman and has accompanied Kasich on some of his early travels.

Carle's resume is a who's-who of Ohio GOP politics over the last two decades. He managed Betty Montgomery's successful race for state auditor in 2002, George Voinovich's successful re-election to the U.S. Senate in 2004 and former Sen. Mike DeWine's failed re-election bid in 2006. Carle, who has a law degree from Capital University, also has consulted for numerous other candidates and issue campaigns and worked for Kasich's administration as director of legislative affairs.

Polesovsky was political director for Kasich's 2010 gubernatorial bid and a director at the Recharge Ohio PAC that served as a precursor to that campaign. He also has served in the administration, as Kasich's director of boards and commissions.

On one hand, Kasich's reliance on his core Buckeye State team calls attention to one challenge he might face as a late arrival to the presidential race. Many of the GOP's top political talents, including those with Kasich ties, already have signed on with other candidates or likely candidates further along in their preparations. Past Kasich pollster Ed Goeas, for example, is committed to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.

But Kasich and those close to him see Carle, Polesovsky and some of the other young lieutenants in the governor's political operation as up-and-comers who will go national sooner or later. There is a level of comfort and trust, which Kasich values.

Kasich, a former congressman who ran briefly for president 16 years ago, also has a network of advisers with experience beyond Ohio. Former U.S. Rep. Bob Walker, who served with Kasich and chaired Newt Gingrich's unsuccessful White House bid 2012, is offering counsel. In New Hampshire, the key first primary state and one that looms as Kasich's best opportunity for early traction, he is receiving help from Bruce Berke, a key in-state activist, and former U.S. Sen. John E. Sununu.

And Schrimpf, the Ohio GOP spokesman who has been speaking on behalf of New Day for America, has national political experience as a communications director for the Republican Governors Association. He also served as Walker's communications director in Wisconsin and as a spokesman to former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue.