Former Ohio Sen. George Voinovich: Rubio Lacks Experience To Be President
George Voinovich, the former two-term Republican senator from Ohio, told BuzzFeed News in an interview on Monday that he believes Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who some in the media have deemed the real frontrunner in the Republican race, lacks the management experience to be president.
The only reason why I discount him, from my experience, is that he hadnt had any management experience, Voinovich, who also was governor of Ohio for two terms, said. And I think our president has been a disaster because of the fact that he hasnt had any management experience.
I was a county auditor, a county commissioner, lieutenant governor, mayor, and governor. And I can tell you that when I became mayor I thanked god that I had been a county commissioner. Id learned things through that experience. And when I became governor, I said, Oh, thank god, I was a mayor, a county commissioner. Theres a big difference between being an executive, an administrator, and being a legislator. And some people can rise above that, but darn few do, he said. (Rubio, it should be noted, was city commissioner for West Miami prior to his election to the Florida statehouse.)
The 79-year-old Republican declined to make an endorsement on Monday, despite a heavy overlap between John Kasichs staff and his own teams from his days in office, including Kasichs campaign manager, Beth Hansen, who was Voinovichs state director for 12 years and ran his first senate campaign.
