Outgoing Republican Ohio Governor John Kasich Says GOP 'Seems Stuck in the 1950s,' 'Naysayers Instead of Doers'

Outgoing Ohio Governor John Kasich blasted the Republican Party as out of touch.

The politician and former news host wrote in a USA Today op-ed published Sunday, on the eve of his exit, that his party—and the country's current political leaders—seem "stuck in the 1950s."

Read more: John Kasich may be coming for Donald Trump's 2020 Republican nomination

Deriding those threatened by the most "energetic, diverse and self-assured" Congress ever, the politician—who ran unsuccessfully for president in 2000 and 2016—complained "change-ignoring inertia" had worsened issues such as health care.

In spite of rapidly shifting demographics, he wrote, "those who fancy themselves as leaders are plodding far behind the march of time."

Comparing the party to businesses like Sears, whose parent company filed for bankruptcy in October 2018, Kasich wrote Republicans needed to "break the mold," like Amazon and Uber, by moving toward the center right and focusing on "solutions."

"This means breaking their own self-made mold of being naysayers instead of doers," he wrote.

The politician cited progress in health care, accessibility and job creation in Ohio as a model for the nation. "It's time for Republicans in our state capitals and Washington to get in step with the fast-moving parade," he wrote.

Kasich, who was succeeded as governor Monday by Republican Mike DeWine, previously told ABC News he was "very seriously" considering running against incumbent President Donald Trump in 2020.

"Look, we need different leadership―there isn't any question about it," Kasich told This Week in November. "I'm worried about our country―and not just in the short-term, but I'm worried about country in the long-term," he said.

This isn't the first time Kasich has called on his party to update its policies. In the wake of last year's school shooting in Parkland, Florida, he criticized Republican's unwillingness to budge on gun control laws. Kasich called for "common sense gun laws," such as increased background checks and restrictions on the sale of certain firearms.

"Everybody's got to look inside of themselves and think about their children. And, look, I'm not calling for some outright ban. I'm talking about small steps that can be taken, that can be effective and Congress ought to do it," he told CNN's State of the Union in February 2018.

Kasich previously criticized the Trump administration's approach to North Korea in a Washington Post opinion piece. In December 2017, he called for a nuclear agreement akin to President Barack Obama's Iran deal, a deal Trump famously abandoned last year.