Ohio Gov. John Kasich delivered a warning Tuesday in New York about the consequences of electing his Republican rivals to the White House, a move he said "could drive America down into a ditch."
Kasich delivered his "Two Paths" speech at 10:30 a.m. EST at the Women's National Republican Club in Manhattan.
The Ohio governor declined to name his opponents — GOP front-runner Donald Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz — but outlined the potential ramifications of their policies, particularly those on immigration, border control, taxes and trade.
Kasich also criticized his fellow candidates for a slew of personal attacks that have plagued the GOP race.
"I have stood on a stage and watched with amazement as candidates wallowed in the mud, viciously attacked one another, called each other liars and disparaged each other's character," Kasich said, adding that he "will not take the low road to the highest office in the land."
He told voters the country must make a choice and take one of two possible paths.
The first choice — "the path that exploits anger, encourages resentment, turns fear into hatred and divides people" — presumably represents a nation led by Trump or Cruz.
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"This path solves nothing. It demeans our history, it weakens our country and it cheapens each of us," Kasich said. "It has but one beneficiary and that is to the politician who speaks of it."
The second path "is the one America has been down before" and "the same path our forebears took together," according to Kasich.
In taking the second path, "America’s supposed decline becomes its finest hour, because we came together to say 'no' to those who would prey on our human weakness and instead chose leadership that serves, helping us look up, not down," Kasich said. "This is the path I believe in. This is path America believes in. And this is the America I know all Americans want us to be. Please join me on this higher path."
Kasich's speech comes a week before the primary election in New York, where polls have heavily favored Trump.
