COLUMBUS – A week ago the rumor mill had establishment Republicans urging Gov. John Kasich to abandon his bid for the White House because he was taking votes from candidates, like Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who show at least a slim chance of halting Donald Trump’s march to the party’s presidential nomination.
Now, Kasich and Rubio appear to be part of an effort to deny delegates to the New York billionaire.
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With Kasich saying he will stay in the race, many Republican strategists are hoping he can win the March 15 Ohio presidential primary as part of a broader effort to block a first-ballot nomination to Trump.
Although Republicans for the past week had pressed Kasich to withdraw from the race and give Rubio a chance to defeat Trump in a two-man contest, the combination of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz winning Texas and Oklahoma and Kasich’s determination to compete in his home state has forced Republicans to improvise another way to prevent Trump’s nomination this summer in Cleveland.
As part of this strategy, Republicans and their allies hope to unleash a TV campaign aimed at battering Trump, hoping that could help Kasich win Ohio and Rubio win his home state of Florida on March 15.
Because the winners of Ohio and Florida receive all 165 delegates in those two states, they could prevent Trump from collecting the 1,237 delegates he needs to be nominated, meaning the eventual nominee would be selected at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.
Kasich is scoffing at critics who say he’s denying Rubio wins. He told reporters yesterday after a town hall in Michigan that, “Maybe he’s taking votes away from me.” Kasich points to his second place finishes in Massachusetts and Vermont.
Kasich is among the four candidates still in the race who will be part of a debate in Detroit held by Fox News. One of the moderators will be Megyn Kelly, who says she doesn’t expect a renewal of her public feud with Trump.
Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney is charging into the increasingly divisive 2016 GOP White House contest. In prepared remarks, to be made at the University of Utah this morning, Romney says the real estate mogul “has neither the temperament nor the judgment to be president.”
Trump called into ABC’s “Good Morning America” to scoff at Romney’s charges.
Ben Carson will be a no-show, having signaled that he’s on the verge of officially quitting his White House bid.