Republican presidential contender John Kasich said Monday that women voters had “left their kitchens” to support his past political campaigns.
Kasich made the remarks while speaking at a town hall in Fairfax, Virginia in reference to his run for the Ohio state Senate in 1978.
“How did I get elected? Nobody was—I didn’t have anybody for me. We just got an army of people, who—and many women, who left their kitchens to go out and go door-to-door and to put yard signs up for me,” he told supporters Monday morning.
“All the way back, when–you know, things were different. Now you call homes and everybody’s out working,” Kasich continued. “But at that time, early days, it was an army of the women that really helped me get elected to the state Senate and into that job.”
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A woman in attendance challenged the Ohio governor for his comments.
“Your comment earlier about the women came out the kitchen to support you? I’ll come to support you, but I won’t be coming out of the kitchen,” she said.
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A spokesperson for Kasich said the presidential hopeful was speaking about “grassroots campaigning.”
“John Kasich’s campaigns have always been homegrown affairs,” said Chris Schrimpf in a statement. “They’ve literally been run out his friends’ kitchens and many of his early campaign teams were made up of stay-at-home moms who believed deeply in the changes he wanted to bring to them and their families. That’s real grassroots campaigning and he’s proud of that authentic support.”
This is not the first time Kasich has made a comment that’s been perceived as insensitive to women.
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At the University of Richmond last year, he told a female student who wanted to ask a question, “I’m sorry, I don’t have any Taylor Swift tickets.”
Kasich has also faced criticism after he signed a bill Sunday prohibiting Ohio from contracting for health services with any organization that performs or promotes abortions, effectively blocking government funds to Planned Parenthood.
Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards was quick to denounce the move.
“This legislation will have devastating consequences for women across Ohio,” Richards said in a statement to CNN. “John Kasich is proudly eliminating care for expectant mothers and newborns; he is leaving thousands without vital STD and HIV testing, slashing a program to fight domestic violence, and cutting access to essential, basic health care.”
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