John Kasich tried to convince us on Tuesday night that he still had a path to a contested GOP presidential primary convention battle with Donald Trump. Or maybe he was trying to convince himself.
Gage Skidmore / Creative Commons
Ohio Gov. John Kasich is quitting the Republican presidential race, clearing the way for Donald Trump to be the party’s nominee. (photo cc info)
On Wednesday, Kasich will acknowledge what Republican leaders said a day earlier — Trump is the party’s apparent presidential nominee — and he will quit the race, according to multiple news reports.
Kasich’s campaign hasn’t officially confirmed his plans. But his campaign sent out a news release canceling a press gaggle and announcing that, instead, he would deliver a statement in his home state of Ohio at 3 p.m. MST.
Ohio, where Kasich is governor, is the only state whose Republican primary he won.
Kasich’s withdrawal comes after Trump won a decisive victory in Indiana on Tuesday that forced his main GOP rival, Ted Cruz, from the race. Kasich, the only other candidate in the race, insisted he would fight on, with his campaign’s chief strategist, John Weaver, saying the GOP “is facing a clear choice between positive solutions that can win in November and a darker path that will solve nothing and lead to Hillary Clinton in the White House, a Democrat Senate and a liberal Supreme Court.”
“As long as it remains possible, Governor Kasich will fight for the higher path,” Weaver said.
Apparently it’s no longer possible.
Which most Republicans already knew. This tweet came from Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, moments after Cruz dropped out on Tuesday:
.@realDonaldTrump will be presumptive @GOP nominee, we all need to unite and focus on defeating @HillaryClinton #NeverClinton
— Reince Priebus (@Reince) May 4, 2016
And the Republican Party of New Mexico sent out its own Trump-supporting statement on Tuesday evening.
“With Donald Trump’s win in Indiana and Ted Cruz dropping out, Trump has functionally secured the nomination,” said spokesman Tucker Keene. “We look forward to seeing Donald Trump in New Mexico and working with our nominee to defeat Hillary Clinton in November and delivering our five electoral votes for the Republicans.”
For Republicans, it’s apparently on to November.